explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2749: Lymphocytes

2023-03-14T16:04:49Z

Account: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2749
| date = March 13, 2023
| title = Lymphocytes
| image = lymphocytes_2x.png
| imagesize = 651x733px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's very hard to detect, but recent studies have determined that when plasma B cells are producing antibodies, they go 'pew pew pew'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the WORLD'S SECOND COOLEST IMMUNOLOGIST - Table is cool, but some entries miss mention or explanation of the text in the comic, when it may have relation to the real life cell etc. (Perhaps ensure each description covers the real description for the name and then the explanation for the rogue text. Except for the D Cell, obviously, where it is both at once.) Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The human body contains many different types of immune cells.{{citation needed}} This comic is a list of lymphocytes, a specific type of immune cell that is found in lymph. As the comic goes on, in the style of many "informative" xkcd comics, the descriptions of the names of the cells get more and more removed from reality. In fact, only two description are accurate, those for the plasma B cell and that of the out of context D cell. The diagrams are either uninformingly similar to each other, as an extremely generic diagram of a biological cell, or made to look somewhat like the item spoofed by the description.

The title text is possibly a reference to this recent study: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnano.3c00638

{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Real Lymphocyte? !! Description !! Comment
|-
| Plasma B cells || Yes || Churn out antibodies || {{w|Plasma B cell}}; churns out antibodies as the comic says.
|-
| Naïve B cells || Yes || Try to stop pathogens by asking nicely || B cells that have not yet been exposed to an antigen. Can only "ask nicely" for pathogens to stop because they cannot yet contribute to the immune system.
|-
| Memory B cells || Yes || Very quietly sing {{w|Memory_(Cats_song)|"Memory" from ''Cats''}} at all times || Long-lived B cells that "remember" an antigen they have previously encountered, allowing them to quickly respond to a reappearance of the same antigen.
|-
| {{w|Regulatory B cell}}s || Yes || Required by local ordinance || Suppress certain immune responses. Cells follow instructions from DNA, which might be considered to be local ordinances.
|-
| CD8+ T cells || Yes || Melee combat || Cytotoxic T cell, responsible for killing cells which are cancerous or infected. Named after the surface protein "CD8" ("Cluster of Differentiation") it uses when searching for targets. Possibly also reference to the tabletop gaming terminology where "d8" means 8-sided dice, "d4" means 4-sided dice, etc. Most gaming systems only use d8s for weapon damage, where d8s are one of the most common, used for weapons like rapiers, longswords, and longbows, or spells like Chill Touch or Ray of Frost.
|-
| CD4+ T cells || Yes || Scream at other cells || Helper T Cell, releasing cytokines as a signal that prompts the immune system into action, thus "screaming" at other cells. Named after the surface protein "CD4" (see above), that is used for binding to other cells while "screaming".
|-
| Gamma-Delta T cells || Yes || Unknown / classified || T cells found largely in mucous membranes of the gut, with different T-cell receptors than normal. Effectively the immune system's first line of defense.
|-
| CDRW+ T cells || No || Rewritable, 700MB || Here, the meaning of "CD" is switched from {{w|Cluster of Differentiation}} to {{w|Compact Disc}}, as in the {{w|CD-RW}} re-writable media format.
|-
| DVD+R T cells || No || Different from DVD-R, though no one is sure how || {{w|DVD+R}} is a DVD format designed by {{w|HP Labs}}, while DVD-R (pronounced "dash R") came originally from {{w|Pioneer Corporation}} and was the earlier accepted system. The two formats are not trivially compatible, but many (re)writing DVD drives were made multiformat to automatically handle both of these, {{w|DVD-RAM}}, read/write versions and CD-density media, as necessary, under the general label of "DVD±RW". The user then ends up not usually needing, or bothering, to know the technical differences.
|-
| Natural killer cells || Yes || Named by the world's coolest immunologist || Kills cells infected by intracellular pathogens and other malfunctioning (e.g. cancerous) cells, similar to CD8+ cells but part of the {{w|innate immune system}}. Discovered by Rolf Kiessling and Hugh Pross, making them "the world's coolest immunologist(s)."
|-
| ILC1, ILC2, and ILC3 cells || Yes || Named by a significantly less cool immunologist || Innate lymphoid cells, regulating the innate immune system through signaling molecules
|-
| D cells || No || Larger than C and AA cells, used in old flashlights || This is not a blood cell, but a {{w|D battery|"D cell" battery}}. Confusingly, biological cells called "D cells" or {{w|delta cell}}s do exist, but they are not lymphocytes.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A 4 by 3 grid, each containing (from top to bottom) the name of the lymphocyte, a depiction of the cell and a description]
{| class="wikitable"
! Panel !! Title !! Shape !! Description
|-
|1 || Plasma B cells || Egg-like shaped cell with the nucleus right from the middle || Churn out antibodies
|-
|2 || Naïve B cells || Almost circular cell with the nucleus in the middle || Try to stop pathogens by asking nicely
|-
|3 || Memory B cells || Like panel 2, but with some music notes next to it, as if it produces sound || Very quietly sing "memory" from Cats at all times
|-
|4 || Regulatory B cells || Like panel 2 || Required by local ordinance
|-
|5 || CD8+ T cells || Also oblong, but with the nucleus left from the middle || Melee combat
|-
|6 || CD4+ T cells || Circular, with a large nucleus, saying ‘AAAAAAAAA!’ || Scream at other cells
|-
|7 || Gamma-Delta T cells || Dashed circle with a question mark in the middle || Unknown / classified
|-
|8 || CDRW+ T cells || Shaped like a CD, with a large hole in the middle || Rewritable, 700MB
|-
|9 || DVD+R T cells || Shaped like a DVD, with a bit smaller hole in the middle || Different from DVD-R, though no one is sure how
|-
|10 || Natural killer cells || Irregularly shaped oblong cell with nucleus in the middle || Named by the world's coolest immunologist
|-
|11 || ILC1, ILC2, and ILC3 cells || Three cells || Named by a significantly less cool immunologist
|-
|12 || D cells || Cilindrical shaped ‘cell’, with a smaller cilindrical ‘nucleus’ inside it at the right, roughly shaped like a D battery || Larger than C and AA cells, used in old flashlights
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Science]]

2749: Lymphocytes

2023-03-14T04:59:15Z

Account: /* Explanation */

2749: Lymphocytes

2023-03-14T04:55:38Z

Account: /* Explanation */

2749: Lymphocytes

2023-03-14T04:51:46Z

Account: /* Explanation */

2736: Only Serifs

2023-02-11T04:33:28Z

Account: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2736
| date = February 10, 2023
| title = Only Serifs
| image = only_serifs_2x.png
| imagesize = 246x112px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you ever want to get beaten up by a bunch of graphic designers, try removing the serifs from Times New Roman and adding them to Comic Sans.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SERIF - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

2721: Euler Diagrams

2023-01-07T06:36:40Z

Account: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2721
| date = January 6, 2023
| title = Euler Diagrams
| image = euler_diagrams_2x.png
| imagesize = 370x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Things Leonhard Euler created ( most of math ( overlapping circle diagrams ) a cricket bowling machine ) Things John Venn created
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE EULER BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing an off-screen person a {{w|Venn diagram}} he made about something. The off-screen person then informs Cueball that it is in fact an {{W|Euler diagram}}, not a Venn diagram. Cueball then proceeds to complain that {{w|List of things named after Leonhard Euler|many things}} are named for {{w|Leonhard Euler}} (specifically {{w|Euler's constant}} and {{w|Euler's function}}) and and wants to call the diagram a Venn diagram to give {{w|John Venn}} more credit. His off-screen friend refuses, and mockingly states that numbers are now called "Euler letters", which is currently false.{{citation needed}} Modern {{w|Arabic numerals}} predate Euler by at least a century, and other numerals existed before that.

A Venn diagram is "a widely used diagram style that shows the logical relation between sets". It shows overlap of items in different categories (sets) by using overlapping circles (or other shapes) to stand in for categories. If an item is within a certain circle, it is in the category the circle represents. So in a Venn diagram of "animals" and "fuzzy things", "cat" would be in the overlap between both circles, "frog" would be inside only "animals", and "kiwifruit" would only be in "fuzzy things". "Crystals" would be outside both circles. In a Venn diagram, all 'circles' must overlap with all other circles, even if there are no items in the overlap. This is easy enough for 2 and 3 sets, but as the number of sets increases the diagrams can get [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22159-logic-blooms-with-new-11-set-venn-diagram/ rather complicated], and the sets can start looking very non-circular. An Euler diagram depicts only the non-empty combinations, and therefore does not have this constraint. The diagram in the comic does not have any overlap between the left and right sections, so while it is an Euler diagram, it is not a Venn diagram.

[[File:Euler Diagrams title text.png|300px|thumb|right|The title text as a Venn diagram]]
The title text is an example of a "written" Venn diagram, with Leonhard Euler creating "most of math", John Venn creating a {{w|cricket}} bowling machine, and both of them having created overlapping circle diagrams.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} 
:[Cueball is standing in front of a whiteboard with his palms raised. The text "Venn Diagram of" is visible in large letters, with "of" on the next line and slightly smaller. Below this are two squiggly lines representing illegible text, followed by three partially overlapping circles with a number of squiggly lines in them.] 
:Friend (offscreen): Actually, that's an ''Euler'' diagram, because-
:Cueball: Come '''''onnnn.'''''
:Cueball: '''''Everything''''' is named after Euler. Euler's constant, Euler's function.
:Cueball: Can't we let John Venn have this?
:Friend (offscreen): No.
:Friend (offscreen): Also, numbers are now "Euler letters."

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Euler diagrams]]
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2694: Königsberg

2022-11-05T03:59:42Z

Account: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2694
| date = November 4, 2022
| title = Königsberg
| image = konigsberg_2x.png
| imagesize = 448x343px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = At first I thought I would need some gold or something to pay him, but then I realized that it was the 18th century and I could just bring a roll of aluminum foil.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FOX, TWO GOATS, AND THREE BAGS OF GRAIN. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:Konigsberg bridges.png|frame|right|{{w|Königsberg}} in Euler's time, showing the river Pregel and its seven bridges]]

This comic is about the {{w|Seven Bridges of Königsberg}}, a seminal {{w|graph theory}} problem solved by the famous mathematician {{w|Leonhard Euler}}. The problem was to devise a path through the city that would cross each of the seven bridges only once, without crossing the river forks any other way. In 1736, Euler proved that there was no solution. This result is considered to be the first theorem of graph theory and the first proof in the theory of networks[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/courses/2004/cscs535/review.pdf] — a subject now generally regarded as a branch of {{w|combinatorics}} — and presaged the development of {{w|topology}}. Combinatorial problems of other types had been considered since antiquity.

[[Cueball]] attempts to cheat on the final exam in his algorithms class by traveling back in time to commission the construction of an eighth bridge before Euler could learn of the problem. He hopes that this would alter his present-day timeline in such a way that the test becomes easier because graph theory might never have been invented.

The title text alludes to the fact that ordinary {{w|aluminum foil}}, which was not commercially available until 1911, would have been tremendously valuable in the 18th century, which didn't even have {{w|tin foil}}. Aluminium itself was a highly priced metal before the 1880s, when methods were developed to cheaply refine it. Famously, the {{w|Washington Monument}} was constructed with an tip made of pure aluminum due to its great value and conductive capacity. Aluminum had not even been extracted in its pure form at the time of Euler, only known in alloys such as {{w|alum}}, so it would have been rare indeed.
[[Category:Math]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Math]]

Talk:2682: Easy Or Hard

2022-10-07T23:42:22Z

Account:

For other people not in US: active ingredient of Tylenol is {{w|Paracetamol}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:51, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

"Now paleontologists have pinpointed during what time of year that millions of years event happened, all thanks to new fossil evidence" (from [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okOnVovooeM SciShow]) It is probably what's referenced in the "What time of year did the cretaceous impact happen?" [[User:Ppete pete|Pete Ratchatakul]] ([[User talk:Ppete pete|talk]]) 13:36, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Paper cited in the title text: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360674587_Derivation_of_a_governing_rule_in_triboelectric_charging_and_series_from_thermoelectricity
[[User:Victor|Victor]] ([[User talk:Victor|talk]]) 13:39, 7 October 2022 (UTC)
:AKA https://journals.aps.org/prresearch/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.4.023131 [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.49|172.70.210.49]] 14:17, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Papers related to the time of the year of the impact:

"... reveal that the impact occurred during boreal Spring/Summer, shortly after the spawning season for fish and most continental taxa." - [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-03232-9 Seasonal calibration of the end-cretaceous Chicxulub impact event]

"Here, by studying fishes that died on the day the Mesozoic era ended, we demonstrate that the impact that caused the Cretaceous–Palaeogene mass extinction took place during boreal spring." - [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04446-1 The Mesozoic terminated in boreal spring]

[[User:Ppete pete|Pete Ratchatakul]] ([[User talk:Ppete pete|talk]]) 13:46, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Isn't mechanisms of Tylenol well known?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4912877/

I can't vouch for the long-period accuracy of the software that I just used (nor have I cross-checked with any other list or interactive app), but my quick research shows that on 31st March 1889 (dignitaries were officially taken to the top of the Eiffel Tower), Mars was in Pisces, and that in-between then and 6th May (the public got to do the same) it had drifted through Aries (IIRC, forgot to note that explicitly!) and into Taurus, where it was still on 26th May (the lifts opened, and the journey didn't have to be by the stairs!). Although you would have been unlikely to get a good view of Mars as it was quite close to conjunction with the Sun, getting well past Mercury's furthest extent. (In mid-June, it was practically on top of (or over but behind, as it were) the Sun, out of sight for all practical purposes.) I'm sure someone can do a more thorough check than myself, before we set this down properly/succinctly, but it was the first thing I thought of checking for myself. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.245|172.70.90.245]] 15:56, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Top right reminds of [[2501: Average Familiarity]]: I guess that for many people relativity and quantum mechanics might fall in the middle right cell, not the top right. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.3.238|172.69.3.238]] 16:07, 7 October 2022 (UTC)
:I agree. It takes some familiarity with physics to realize that reconciling them is hard. Lay people may not understand these things at all, but they might assume that they're known well enough by scientists that this is at worst a hard problem. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:28, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Isn't there a category for these types of grids? There should be, he does lots of them. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:28, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

I got 2.125*10^-17 m/s^2, or 3.18*10^-18 N, for the gravitational force/acceleration from the Eiffel Tower on a baseball on Fenway Park. Someone might want to check my calculations, though.--[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 23:42, 7 October 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2681: Archimedes Principle

2022-10-06T03:50:00Z

Account: Actually explaining the comic.

I started an explanation, but I can't really figure out what Archimedes' "plan" is. I guess it has something to do with swapping out the fake crown with the king's real gold crown. Heist movies and TV shows always confuse me (I liked "Leverage" for the characters, but could never understand the plans). [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:12, 5 October 2022 (UTC)
:Under the guise of demonstrating the displacement principle (the buoyancy effect has no real part in this, given the non-floating nature of any crown... I think the focus in the explanation should just be upon the displaced volume of liquid which traditionally would quantify the volume of an object of known weight and a density to be tested to ensure it is that of the purported substance) he will dunk the real crown in the water. Then ''either'':
:* extract the fake crown, now 'proven true', satisfying everyone but leaving him the really-true crown, or,
:* extract the fake crown, possibly fudging the interpretation (how much water sloshes out) to make it ''seem'' like a fake crown went in (and the fake that came out can now be destructively examined to confirm this, now having just cause to utterly ruin the craftwork in the process, and framing the original artisan for fraud), again leaving him with the crown he was given for testing.
:If the original crown was itself already fake then it might not be worth it (or have to lean towards the latter outcome with a bit of extra care not to 'upgrade' the fake) but that's probably covered by the typical Batman Gambit of a typical heist movie characterm [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.49|172.70.85.49]] 00:37, 6 October 2022 (UTC)
::The first of the two options makes way more sense. I don't like this plan at all though. How do you hide a colored shiny thing in a bucket of transparent water?!? I feel like we're missing something obvious. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.80|172.69.34.80]] 01:53, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

::Megan says "hidden IN the bottom" , so I think there is some kind of false floor/double bottom at play here; allowing the fake crown to be hidden from view and allowing for a crown-swap in the middle of the demonstration. [[User:Flekkie|Flekkie]] ([[User talk:Flekkie|talk]]) 02:02, 6 October 2022 (UTC)
:According to legend, Archimedes is given the king's crown in order to test for its purity without breaking it; he suspects that the goldsmith he hired replaced most of the gold with silver and kept the excess to himself. Archimedes uses his displacement principle to measure the volume (figuring the principle out in his "Eureka" moment) and weighs the crown to determine its density; his results imply that the crown is in fact fake.
:Here it's implied that the real crown is actually gold, and Archimedes is taking advantage of the king's paranoia; he's likely planning to switch it out, perform his experiment on the fake crown, and keep the real gold to himself. --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 03:50, 6 October 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2666: Universe Price Tiers

2022-09-03T19:19:23Z

Account:

We seem to be in Universe Standard, based on the cosmic speed limit
[[User:Victor|Victor]] ([[User talk:Victor|talk]]) 22:03, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Is the price per user (human)? Or payed by the "god" who runs the universe?
The interpretation would change quite a bit. If per user, some could travel fast while others would not see ads and could even be immortal.
If per universe, would the concept of ads disappear?
[[User:Victor|Victor]] ([[User talk:Victor|talk]]) 22:25, 31 August 2022 (UTC)
::The tree sound can't be a particular human's experience, and the speed limit seems intended to be per universe.

General comment, I think each line of the table should have a separate one-line or one-paragraph explanation, rather than squishing it into one column of a table which mostly reproduces the comic text. i.e. we don't need the table in the explanation, although it works fine in the transcript imo. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.71|172.69.62.71]] 23:40, 31 August 2022 (UTC)edit: a word

"Yes, and he cheats" may be a reference to a quote from ''Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri''.
::I fully expected something like ''"Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out 'til too late that he's been playing with two queens all along."'' (from ''Interesting Times'' by Terry Pratchett) [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 01:47, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
::The SMAC quote is "Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded. - Chairman Sheng-ji Yang", from the Probability Mechanics tech. Also, the "God does not play dice" quote is stated during the Supercollider secret project movie. I doubt the comic is referencing any particular media here, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.5|172.69.22.5]] 02:40, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
::Meanwhile, Stephen Hawking said "Not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen." -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 16:01, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

Under ''Number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin'', '64' is 2⁵ and may be making reference to the Nintendo 64 game system. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 01:54, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
::And just for the record, 4096 is 2¹². [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]])
:::64 = 26 != 25 = 32. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.17|172.68.50.17]] 19:43, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
:: Note that the philosophical question of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin turns to have much more useful meaning if we realize that the question wasn't if 64 or 4096, but if it's a finite or infinite number, that is, if angels are subject to {{w|Pauli's exclusion principle}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 15:59, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
::: I think the answer is [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8071704/characters/nm0000531 to be found elsewhere]. And it is a different power of 2! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 17:26, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
:::: Damn, now I want to see that scene again to see what the hell the gavotte is, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 15:50, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
::::: Here is an [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQtUr7-wMYw extended version] (with uploader's additional soundtrack?), but it seems like the most demonstrative publically available clip at first glance. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.211|172.69.79.211]] 18:38, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
:No. You can't use the 64 to try to inject a reference, 64 is too important and common a number, Nintendo and Randall simply got the number from the same place, being 2^6 (it's 6, not 5, 5 is 32. One to six is 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64). You need SOMETHING else to wonder if there's a question/reference. Like if the N64 had some game where angels dance on the head of a pin (or at least dancing angels). In which case it'd be a reference to that game. In the same way you could claim it's a reference to 64-bit versions of Windows, or about how iOS switched to requiring 64-bit apps and dropped support for 32-bit apps a couple of years ago, both of which are more recent and thus could be considered more likely. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 15:41, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
:Not only are the numbers all powers of 2, they're all perfect squares as well. This might imply 2x2, 8x8, and 32x32 "resolution" on the universe, as in "how many pixels can dance on the head of a pin?" --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 19:19, 3 September 2022 (UTC)

Who is paying our subscription? How do we ensure we don't get demoted to lite?

Here, the sound of one hand clapping is pretty much "toop." Put your hand out flat fingers together, and no thumb involved, quickly make a fist. Toop. Edit I'm not making a fist. Im keeping the last joints straight and smacking my hand[[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.95|172.70.134.95]] 15:59, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
:But two hands each doing that (or slapping another bit of body) aren't "two hands clapping", but more like two hands ''clasping''/something-or-other-like-that.
:If you could bring your one hand to a sudden stop in mid-air ''as if'' hitting another hand, it might be closer, but there's no sudden stop possible like a contact-stop. Plus a full-fledged clap for maximum ovational volume involves cupped hands trapping a resonant volume of air between them, almost sealed (wet hands so positioned can be used to force a squeaky-fart sound out from between them), and neither an "air clap" or the toop-clasp can do anything so dramatic with a solo hand. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.154|141.101.99.154]] 17:54, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
: the sound can be more clap like if you bend your hand upwards and keep it like that. Then loosen your fingers, and smash your upward lower arm to the front and back. My one armed brother taught me. It's handy (hehe) if one hand is holding a drink. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.204|172.68.51.204]] 07:36, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

I have a problem with the "Bad things..." portion. ''If'' I was a bad person, then I would never pay for the universe, as I would be better off in the free version, where nothing bad would ever happen to me. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:17, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

The "bad things" section is a bit bothersome: good things don't exist without bad things. Without bad things, good things are just...things. So maybe awareness of bad things is still extant in UniPro? That way, good things would still be at the upper end of a theoretical scale.

But the subjectivity of badness is concerning in a bad-things-don't-happen realm. I reckon plenty of people who could spring for fifty bucks a month would list rum, Katharine Hepburn movies, gay people and Jews as bad things that therefore won't happen. If I stump up my Pro subscription, do I have to share the universe with these douchebags, or do we each get our own? And if it's the latter, how much of a douche must you be to be excluded from my universe? Can we differ a little and still coexist, or do we have to gel perfectly? And how would that ever happen...and would it be tolerable to live surrounded by my opinion-clones? Is this...is this the too-perfect Matrix v.1.0? Am I buying a ticket to a simulated utopia while my body atrophies?
You monster! Guards! Guards! Let me out.....

[[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.35|172.71.178.35]] 23:09, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
Note that Universe Lite is marked as trademark, Universe Standard as a registered trademark, and Universe Pro as...BOTH. This is a joke; more is better, esp. in lists of features. But there's no point in claiming a mark is both a trademark and a registered trademark.

How to clap with one hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwoq3QBaQAY [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:38, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear it, then there is NO SOUND. The act of the tree falling will create vibrations in the air, but those vibrations only become 'sound' when they impact on a tympanic membrane (such as an eardrum) that is connected to a brain. Sound happens in your head, folks. Of course, in practice, the likelihood of a tree falling in an area that contains NO tympanic membranes at all is impossible given the abundance of miniature scaled life on Earth. That said, we have no idea whether insects actually perceive those air vibrations as 'sound' in the same way that humans do - the fairy fly, for example, is so small that it can 'swim' through air rather than flying, so probably perceives sound waves the same way that humans experience ocean waves.
[[User:MarquisOfCarrabass|MarquisOfCarrabass]] ([[User talk:MarquisOfCarrabass|talk]]) 05:50, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
: <-----Pish-Posh. Sound happens regardless of aby tympanic membranes. Sound: noun 1. vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear. The definition is CAN be heard, not ARE heard. Sound vibrations cause MANY things to happen besides vibrating tympanic membranes, and it's STILL SOUND.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.60|172.70.100.60]] 11:47, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
::These two viewpoints are ''exactly'' why this is a point of philosophical discussion instead of a solved problem. [[User:Noëlle|Noëlle]] ([[User talk:Noëlle|talk]]) 20:36, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
:::Yes, it comes down to how one defines "sound". Is it a set of air vibrations with a certain set of characteristics, or is it someone's ''perception'' of such a set of vibrations? The question about the tree falling is indeterminate as stated because of the lack of that definition. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 21:40, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

We should do a comparison of universe standard vs our universe see if that's what we're doing [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 08:13, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
:...hang on, I already downloaded a crack to repatch the executables to get around the pesky copy protection/licence-key manager. The patcher utility says it might take some time, and I've had to give it superuser access to the entire system for some reason, so it might be a good idea to save your current session and let it do its job before messing about in the menus or we might find unexpected results! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 11:01, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
:I looked in the leaked payment notes, and found that biblicalGod31, the current payer, refused to pay 2 geomagnetic reversals ago, so our subscription got demoted to standard. Looking in the End God License Agreement, it seems that next geomagnetic reversal we will be demoted to lite. (Sorry if I didn't do humor well). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.11|172.70.126.11]] 13:38, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
::I definitely want to see this movie/read this book now. Our heroes discover that the universe is in fact a simulation. Not a malevolent one like The Matrix, but a for-fun one like implied by this comic. The heroes come to realize that the entity playing the simulation is about to screw it up somehow (possibly by not paying the subscription fee), and they have to figure out how to break out of the simulation and convince the apathetic entity to care about the inhabitants of the universe and save it from annihilation or demotion to the free tier. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.65|172.70.178.65]] 15:01, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

Except for the Cosmic Speed Limit - which I didn't know what speed this meant until the explanation - I found it quite clear THIS is UniverseLite! We ARE using it free. Bad things DO only seem to happen to good people. God DOES seem to play dice and cheat. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:54, 3 September 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2666: Universe Price Tiers

2022-09-03T19:19:02Z

Account:

We seem to be in Universe Standard, based on the cosmic speed limit
[[User:Victor|Victor]] ([[User talk:Victor|talk]]) 22:03, 31 August 2022 (UTC)

Is the price per user (human)? Or payed by the "god" who runs the universe?
The interpretation would change quite a bit. If per user, some could travel fast while others would not see ads and could even be immortal.
If per universe, would the concept of ads disappear?
[[User:Victor|Victor]] ([[User talk:Victor|talk]]) 22:25, 31 August 2022 (UTC)
::The tree sound can't be a particular human's experience, and the speed limit seems intended to be per universe.

General comment, I think each line of the table should have a separate one-line or one-paragraph explanation, rather than squishing it into one column of a table which mostly reproduces the comic text. i.e. we don't need the table in the explanation, although it works fine in the transcript imo. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.71|172.69.62.71]] 23:40, 31 August 2022 (UTC)edit: a word

"Yes, and he cheats" may be a reference to a quote from ''Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri''.
::I fully expected something like ''"Most gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out 'til too late that he's been playing with two queens all along."'' (from ''Interesting Times'' by Terry Pratchett) [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 01:47, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
::The SMAC quote is "Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded. - Chairman Sheng-ji Yang", from the Probability Mechanics tech. Also, the "God does not play dice" quote is stated during the Supercollider secret project movie. I doubt the comic is referencing any particular media here, though. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.5|172.69.22.5]] 02:40, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
::Meanwhile, Stephen Hawking said "Not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen." -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 16:01, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

Under ''Number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin'', '64' is 2⁵ and may be making reference to the Nintendo 64 game system. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 01:54, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
::And just for the record, 4096 is 2¹². [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]])
:::64 = 26 != 25 = 32. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.17|172.68.50.17]] 19:43, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
:: Note that the philosophical question of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin turns to have much more useful meaning if we realize that the question wasn't if 64 or 4096, but if it's a finite or infinite number, that is, if angels are subject to {{w|Pauli's exclusion principle}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 15:59, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
::: I think the answer is [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8071704/characters/nm0000531 to be found elsewhere]. And it is a different power of 2! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 17:26, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
:::: Damn, now I want to see that scene again to see what the hell the gavotte is, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 15:50, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
::::: Here is an [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQtUr7-wMYw extended version] (with uploader's additional soundtrack?), but it seems like the most demonstrative publically available clip at first glance. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.211|172.69.79.211]] 18:38, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
:No. You can't use the 64 to try to inject a reference, 64 is too important and common a number, Nintendo and Randall simply got the number from the same place, being 2^6 (it's 6, not 5, 5 is 32. One to six is 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64). You need SOMETHING else to wonder if there's a question/reference. Like if the N64 had some game where angels dance on the head of a pin (or at least dancing angels). In which case it'd be a reference to that game. In the same way you could claim it's a reference to 64-bit versions of Windows, or about how iOS switched to requiring 64-bit apps and dropped support for 32-bit apps a couple of years ago, both of which are more recent and thus could be considered more likely. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 15:41, 3 September 2022 (UTC)
:Not only are the numbers all powers of 2, they're all perfect squares as well. This might imply 2x2, 8x8, and 32x32 "resolution" on the universe, as in "how many pixels can dance on the head of a pin?"

Who is paying our subscription? How do we ensure we don't get demoted to lite?

Here, the sound of one hand clapping is pretty much "toop." Put your hand out flat fingers together, and no thumb involved, quickly make a fist. Toop. Edit I'm not making a fist. Im keeping the last joints straight and smacking my hand[[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.95|172.70.134.95]] 15:59, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
:But two hands each doing that (or slapping another bit of body) aren't "two hands clapping", but more like two hands ''clasping''/something-or-other-like-that.
:If you could bring your one hand to a sudden stop in mid-air ''as if'' hitting another hand, it might be closer, but there's no sudden stop possible like a contact-stop. Plus a full-fledged clap for maximum ovational volume involves cupped hands trapping a resonant volume of air between them, almost sealed (wet hands so positioned can be used to force a squeaky-fart sound out from between them), and neither an "air clap" or the toop-clasp can do anything so dramatic with a solo hand. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.154|141.101.99.154]] 17:54, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
: the sound can be more clap like if you bend your hand upwards and keep it like that. Then loosen your fingers, and smash your upward lower arm to the front and back. My one armed brother taught me. It's handy (hehe) if one hand is holding a drink. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.204|172.68.51.204]] 07:36, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

I have a problem with the "Bad things..." portion. ''If'' I was a bad person, then I would never pay for the universe, as I would be better off in the free version, where nothing bad would ever happen to me. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 19:17, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

The "bad things" section is a bit bothersome: good things don't exist without bad things. Without bad things, good things are just...things. So maybe awareness of bad things is still extant in UniPro? That way, good things would still be at the upper end of a theoretical scale.

But the subjectivity of badness is concerning in a bad-things-don't-happen realm. I reckon plenty of people who could spring for fifty bucks a month would list rum, Katharine Hepburn movies, gay people and Jews as bad things that therefore won't happen. If I stump up my Pro subscription, do I have to share the universe with these douchebags, or do we each get our own? And if it's the latter, how much of a douche must you be to be excluded from my universe? Can we differ a little and still coexist, or do we have to gel perfectly? And how would that ever happen...and would it be tolerable to live surrounded by my opinion-clones? Is this...is this the too-perfect Matrix v.1.0? Am I buying a ticket to a simulated utopia while my body atrophies?
You monster! Guards! Guards! Let me out.....

[[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.35|172.71.178.35]] 23:09, 1 September 2022 (UTC)
Note that Universe Lite is marked as trademark, Universe Standard as a registered trademark, and Universe Pro as...BOTH. This is a joke; more is better, esp. in lists of features. But there's no point in claiming a mark is both a trademark and a registered trademark.

How to clap with one hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwoq3QBaQAY [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:38, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

If a tree falls in a forest and there's no one there to hear it, then there is NO SOUND. The act of the tree falling will create vibrations in the air, but those vibrations only become 'sound' when they impact on a tympanic membrane (such as an eardrum) that is connected to a brain. Sound happens in your head, folks. Of course, in practice, the likelihood of a tree falling in an area that contains NO tympanic membranes at all is impossible given the abundance of miniature scaled life on Earth. That said, we have no idea whether insects actually perceive those air vibrations as 'sound' in the same way that humans do - the fairy fly, for example, is so small that it can 'swim' through air rather than flying, so probably perceives sound waves the same way that humans experience ocean waves.
[[User:MarquisOfCarrabass|MarquisOfCarrabass]] ([[User talk:MarquisOfCarrabass|talk]]) 05:50, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
: <-----Pish-Posh. Sound happens regardless of aby tympanic membranes. Sound: noun 1. vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they reach a person's or animal's ear. The definition is CAN be heard, not ARE heard. Sound vibrations cause MANY things to happen besides vibrating tympanic membranes, and it's STILL SOUND.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.60|172.70.100.60]] 11:47, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
::These two viewpoints are ''exactly'' why this is a point of philosophical discussion instead of a solved problem. [[User:Noëlle|Noëlle]] ([[User talk:Noëlle|talk]]) 20:36, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
:::Yes, it comes down to how one defines "sound". Is it a set of air vibrations with a certain set of characteristics, or is it someone's ''perception'' of such a set of vibrations? The question about the tree falling is indeterminate as stated because of the lack of that definition. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 21:40, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

We should do a comparison of universe standard vs our universe see if that's what we're doing [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 08:13, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
:...hang on, I already downloaded a crack to repatch the executables to get around the pesky copy protection/licence-key manager. The patcher utility says it might take some time, and I've had to give it superuser access to the entire system for some reason, so it might be a good idea to save your current session and let it do its job before messing about in the menus or we might find unexpected results! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.5|172.70.85.5]] 11:01, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
:I looked in the leaked payment notes, and found that biblicalGod31, the current payer, refused to pay 2 geomagnetic reversals ago, so our subscription got demoted to standard. Looking in the End God License Agreement, it seems that next geomagnetic reversal we will be demoted to lite. (Sorry if I didn't do humor well). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.11|172.70.126.11]] 13:38, 2 September 2022 (UTC)
::I definitely want to see this movie/read this book now. Our heroes discover that the universe is in fact a simulation. Not a malevolent one like The Matrix, but a for-fun one like implied by this comic. The heroes come to realize that the entity playing the simulation is about to screw it up somehow (possibly by not paying the subscription fee), and they have to figure out how to break out of the simulation and convince the apathetic entity to care about the inhabitants of the universe and save it from annihilation or demotion to the free tier. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.65|172.70.178.65]] 15:01, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

Except for the Cosmic Speed Limit - which I didn't know what speed this meant until the explanation - I found it quite clear THIS is UniverseLite! We ARE using it free. Bad things DO only seem to happen to good people. God DOES seem to play dice and cheat. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:54, 3 September 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2659: Unreliable Connection

2022-08-15T23:51:57Z

Account: NAME

first [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.13|172.70.85.13]] 22:37, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:Dude, no [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 22:46, 15 August 2022 (UTC)

I don’t think this has anything to do with teleconferencing. Am I missing something? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 22:46, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:Yes. The impliction is that people are expecting you to be available for online communications, and you can use the unreliable Internet connection as an excuse to get out of it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:51, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
::I think it's more about communication in general. He doesn't want anybody calling him or sending him emails, so by saying he has an "unreliable" connection people might assume it will be hard to get in touch with him.
:::Back in the day, email was usually configured so that it could easily overcome such unreliability, and it's still doable,[https://discourse.mailinabox.email/t/running-from-home/6459/7] but today email for most people is a web or local client-server app, as opposed to a local mail store in a peer-to-peer app. Even people in urban areas can suffer unreliable internet, when squirrels or backhoes gnaw through data cables, copper theives strike, or 5G mind control base stations are congested. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.143|172.70.210.143]] 23:45, 15 August 2022 (UTC)

According to a PhET simulator (https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/plinko-probability/latest/plinko-probability_en.html) for this situation, the ideal standard deviation is 1.732 and ideal mean is 6. I don’t feel like doing the calculations :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 23:34, 15 August 2022 (UTC)
:If we assume 50-50 for each bounce, the probability that internet is off will be about (11 choose 3)/(2^11), or 8%.--[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 23:51, 15 August 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2659: Unreliable Connection

2022-08-15T23:51:44Z

Account: MATH

User talk:Kynde

2022-07-30T18:38:15Z

Account: /* A spammer has appeared! */

== Cueball references ==
Hi, please do not remove the Cueball references here. He is a standard character. The category [[:Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] gives just an overview about all comics showing this stick figure. And just one is him, not defined by Randall but by us. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:10, 8 May 2014 (UTC)
:But who should define who Cueball is? You? I could see him as both here. And somebody did. You have just corrected back so that the Cueball in the explain is switched to the other charachter in the transcript. At least one of these should then be changed to match the other. It is thus also clear that people have different views of what Cueball stands for. Is he the one trolling, or is he the one who knows which movie Blade Runner is? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:35, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
:By the way - I did not remove the reference to the chategory - but only in the text as described above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

== Minor tags on edits ==
Also, a minor concern, but please be more sparing in your use of "minor" tags on edits. Addition of 1200 characters (e.g. . . m Talk:1496: Art Project‎; 20:04 . . (+1,240)‎ . . ‎Kynde, or . . m 1497: New Products‎; 19:12 . . (-419)‎ . . ‎Kynde →‎Explanation: It does not fit into category four! See new test. I also deleted a lot of text, that already was written below, and was basically the same as the one stille) is NOT minor. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:22, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
::When adding a new comment to the talk page I newer see this as a major change. This i a discussion not a change to the explanation!. I do not believe it was a big change removing the text you wrote, when all of it basically was written below. Try and read your version, and see that it was more or less double. Also I had already once removed the reference to the fourth category. If the guy has signed up he have no problems with this company. Also it is mentioned that the fourth category is not a company he is afraid off, but just someone they do not like. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

== Thank you ==

I like what you did at [[1402: Harpoons]]. Thank you. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]]
:You're welcome - I did it based on your comment [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 03:41, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

==[[980: Money]]==
Hey, you've done an amazing job on the money comic's transcript, but the explanation page is still marked as incomplete. Is there actually anything left to be done on it? Thanks! [[User:Davak72|Davak72]] ([[User talk:Davak72|talk]]) 03:04, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
:Thanks allot. I have replied on the Money page where you repeated the above. I can even remember the number although it was some time since I did the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:44, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

== Merge Cueball & Rob ==

You seem to have changed some comics in which formerly more than one cueball appeared to make it such that none were called cueball (e.g. Orb Hammer). But many persist, see transcripts in:
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1405:_Meteor
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/192:_Working_for_Google
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/187:_The_Familiar
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/79:_Iambic_Pentameter
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/65:_Banter

We should probably seek broader consensus before rewriting all these transcripts. There seems to me to be a general trend to name one "Cueball" and call the others "Friend" or somesuch in these cases and I'm concerned that you seem to want to singlehandedly rewrite all that convention. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:07, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:It is typically the first who writes the transcript who decides who of the Cueballs (or Megans) he feel represents the real Cueball. However, there is no real behavior of Cueball. So who should decide. I could also change these transcripts so it becomes the other character who becomes Cueball, because I think the first transcripter did it wrong. This was exactly what happened with the two Megan-like comics. First it was Megan and Danish. Then unidentified girl and Megan. Then Megan and unidentified girl, then two Megan like girls with short and long hair and finally you reverted it to my first ide: Unidentified girl and Megan. So thanks for showing me these six double Cueball comics. I will change asap. And as I answered your comment on [[1496: Art Project]] Rob is already listed as part of the category for Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Rob and this is listed as the first entry when going to the page for Category:Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Cueball Thus he should not be merged--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:21, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:: Can you please add this discussion here [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob]. I have refrained from making these sort of substantial changes and want to seek a broader consensus. Please use the community forum to seek such consensus before making major unilateral changes like that. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:24, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:::Done with interests --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:02, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:: there are dozens of multiple-Cueball comments. Please don't change them to "man 1", "man 2" until we can reach a braoder consensus. I will not be changing them to "Rob" without consensus. This is not something to be done all at once and making that many changes will prompt me to request that an admin freeze your account. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:27, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:::I was about to write this before your comment no. two. So this was a reply to your previous comment: "I can post it there, but these changes has been underway a long time for almost a year. But it is hard to find these comics as I do not go through them just to find incidences. How long have you been active in xkcd. I can see your page has been created today, but maybe you were active long before that?"--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
::::This is a comment to your next comment: "It is very hard to threaten someone like that already. I have been making these changes before, and by the way never to man 1 or man 2. I have been one of the top contributers for more than a year. I hope this is not just because I reverted one of your contributions to Mondays comic? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:::::I didn't want to threaten. I think consistent style is important, and general style I see is in multi-Cueball comics, one is ID'd as Cueball and others are "Friend", etc. Anyone unilaterally changing an established style should seek consensus first.
:::::Additionally, I think your undo on my edit actually improved the explanation.
:::::Finally, if you know how to solicit more opinions on the matter at hand, please let me know (or do it). Thanks! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 23:53, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
::::::Thanks on the edit appraisal. As I wrote on the talk page, yours was also much better phrased the second time. I do not know how to get anyone to go read your comment except by giving them the message like you did with me. Or putting a link to it from the talk page of the double Megan comic, and maybe on some of the double Cueball comics too. I did not understand the "solicit more opinions" at first (why I wrote that last part in my comment below "how many will read"). So you do realize, I can see now, that not many will. By the way I'm [[Danish]]... That is, I'm neither a mean girl or a pastry cake, but from Denmark. And although I'm, really good at English for everyday use, it is not by far a language I can understand everything. But suddenly I got your message.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 12 March 2015 (UTC)
My only point is we need to wait until consensus is reached before undoing years of precedent in Cueball naming. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 22:38, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:Well as I have made fairly clear there is no consensus. Because it is up to the first one who writes the transcript to decide who is the friend. And this often leads to discussion or changes forth and back (like we just saw with two Megans) since people have different opinion on how Cueball should behave, since they do not know that Cueball can behave anyway Randall needs him to. Often he reflects Randall's intelligence, but just as often he is a prick behaving horribly towards girls etc. So if there are two, one good and one bad, you cannot say the good one is Cueball. And how many do you think reads your post? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:43, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

I have had a look at the comics you have listed. Here are my comments:
*[[1405:_Meteor]]
**Here I would have changed - since it is believed that Cueball often represents Randall's version of himself - especially when it is his hobby. Of course it is then Randall who is pedantic, and thus Cueball. So I would change the Cueball reference. So here we could have a stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.
*[[525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening]]
**Here there is only one Cueball speaking. And the other is listening in. So here I would no object so much. Maybe I would mention that the other looks like Cueball.
*[[192:_Working_for_Google]]
**Here I would have changed - since I would think that Cueball should have the most interesting story, and also that this Cueball is Randall as it is known that Randall has an interest in Google and has also been cheated by their aptitude test (so much that he did the famous [[356: Nerd Sniping]]). So also here I would change the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.
*[[187:_The_Familiar]]
**Here I would have changed - since I would thing that Cueball should be the one always interested in computers. Not the other way. I know there are other comics where he enjoys nature. But Also a lot where he enjoys computers out of hand and math etc. So again I would have changed the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.
*[[79:_Iambic_Pentameter]]
**Here I agree with the Cueball = Randall - it's Randall my hobby and thus the one with the Hobby is Cueball. But I would still prefer they are not named. some might argue against me on the hobby, saying the Cueball with the hobby is "Randall" so the other Cueball is "Cueball". Thus once more editing war. But I would not start it. But still probably mention that the Cueball with a hobby is Randall.
*[[65:_Banter]]
**What can I say. The first is called Cueball the other is not. They have the same amount of text, and they are obviously both gay and missing out. I would definitely loose the Cueball reference here.
That is my ten cents about these six examples. Maybe we should create a category called multiple Cueballs. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)
:Note that I have not changed any of these... yet. But maybe I should revert those three I think is plain wrong, so the Cueball and friend is changed. Then we can see if anyone changes back? ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

:::I advise waiting. If you want to enact 4, go for it, but then put in the discussion a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob link] to our discussion for '''all''' the changes you make so hopefully someone besides you and me goes to that page and weighs in.

To answer your question, I've read xkcd for years (I started reading regularly around the time there were ~500 total comics), lurked on explainxkcd and made anonymous minor edits for most of that time. I set up an account in July 2013, when I began making more regular edits.

I recognize that the issue has a large amount of inertia. My point is precisely that there are 9 "Rob" comics and countless Cueball. But, as I stated on the page, there is ample evidence that the same character (Black Hat's friend/roommate, Megan's boyfriend) '''is''' named Rob. I haven't done a count, but I suspect that "Megan" is named in the comic fewer than 9 times, but characters of her appearance are '''all''' called "Megan".

Yes, multiple Megans triggered the idea that's been brewing in my mind since someone (not me) made an anonymous comment on a relatively recent Rob comic [1168: tar]. Since I read that it's been sitting in my mind, but I haven't wanted to make an issue. However, the asymmetry between Megan/Cutie and Rob/Cueball grates for me and I want to urge the community here to evaluate critically whether it is the right thing or an inappropriate historical artifact. Years ago, [Cutie] was abolished (redirects now to [Megan]), I think it's objectively appropriate to make a symmetrical arrangement for Rob/Cueball (hence my options 2 & 3 in the public discussion thread).

For now, if you want to go changing all those comics go ahead. I won't argue or revert, but I request that you put the following (or something close to it) in the discussion of all the comics you change "I've removed the name 'Cueball' from this and several other comics that have multiple Cueball's in them as per my position on the issue currently under discussion at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob if you support this change or disagree with it, please weigh in on that discussion thread."

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from more users. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 00:04, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

::::Dear Djbrasier
:(By the way my name is Kynde - that is both my nick and my middle name).
:Thanks for this very open talk. I like you much better now ;-)
:If I do change any of these I will do as you ask. It is not like I have forever to do these changes, although I for sure use too much time already on explain... I think I will add the category:Comics with multiple Cueballs. What do you think of the name if I do (and if I do then maybe also make one with Category:Comics where Megan is named Megan. Please tell me you can think of a better name for that one ;-) I only know of the three now mentioned on [[Megan]]s page.
:As you can see om my page, I have only used explain xkcd since late 2013. So you have been member longer than me by some months. I did not read xkcd before that - became fascinated with the What if section on xkcd and when I finished with those I turned to the comic. But found that I failed to understand quite a few, and thus searched and found this page. I have read them as they come out since then, and then also began reading from no. 1. But since I always look in this page for the explanation and like to contribute I only progress very slowly. Recently I have reached [[540: Base System]] where I have made several improvements additions and corrections. And that is as far as I have reached reading straight fro no. 1. But I have of course used the cross referencing and thus read many in between that and those from October 2013.
:Regards Kynde --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:02, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

::Happy to have the discussion and to get to wiki-know you. I definitely see your points. I added a few comments and links to our public discussion in the hopes that, over time, it will attract more users to the community portal discussion. I suspect it will take some months for enough users to weigh in that we have a reasonable consensus. I think that if you remove "Cueball" from some of the comics you mentioned above and put a link to the portal page in the discussion block of those comments, that will prompt community input.
::Cheers,
::DJ [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:40, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

I also added incomplete tags to a few comics in which I think a strong argument can be made that "Cueball" is really Rob, despite his name not showing up (Boombox & Cover-up) [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:49, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
:Well I disagree again. See the talk pages. But then it is out for discussion.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:19, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

I have changed several of the Multiple Cueballs comics as you said was OK with you. See the new caregory. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:41, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

== xkcloud permalink usernames ==

You said "The user name and user picture stay the same though.", [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1506:_xkcloud&diff=prev&oldid=88207 An Anon] had mentioned that [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024 3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024] had the name "Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit" and changed to "Margaret5", then by the time I looked at it, it had "Virginia2006". It still has "Virginia2006" now, but since it has changed twice I wouldn't assume it is now permanent. Due to this, I [[1506:_xkcloud/Table of Permalinks|haven't been saving the usernames]]. Could you confirm that you see Virginia2006? Perhaps it's different for each user. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:09, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
:Yes I did see Virginia2006. I think it may change some times, but then suddenly it could become stable? The permalink used on the main page of the explain, was mine. I noted it was Mark Zuckerberg. But this has changed. But now I think it is stuck on: Destiny1983 and always with the skating "Megan". Can you confirm this: http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/50b47c70-3a7c-504d-bcc0-60597338e999 . Cool that you have collected all these images. Can we put the link under the permalink section. As you can see I'm trying to completely revise the page so it is easier to find the explain and then only see the detail if you are interested. Hope you like these changes --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
::Yeah, I see Destiny1983 on that one too. I like the changes, they make everything much clearer. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:30, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Thanks. I was trying to make it easier to write some extra info on your permalink page, and deleted most of them. Luckily they are not deleted permanently. But the page is so big I have trouble loading it. I try to repair my mistake, but else please do so for me, and sorry in advance. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:45, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

::::NP, <tt>&action=history</tt> is a life-saver. I was going to suggest using <tt>&action=edit&section=0</tt>, but I see you've already added a description heading. It also lags pretty badly for me so I expect I'll have to stop at 10000, and I'm already up to 8444 since my last edit to the page. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 22:20, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::Yes I think I fixed it but I had to split it in three uploads. How many different pictures do you think there are. I guess some off them are the same? (And same for text). Maybe the last part can be seen by sorting the table. But does the image also have the same name when used more than once? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:33, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

::::::Well, I know of 1419 unique images so far. Yes, both images and text are reused for different permalinks, some come up a lot more frequently than others. If you click the heading, you can sort by either image or text, which will group them together. It's kind of interesting to see different captions for the same image. If you mean the same username, I haven't checked. I also haven't checked whether the same pair of image and text ever appear together as different permalinks, I'll check that <s>eventually</s>, <s>later</s>, ''right now''... nope. I imagine the prompt never even ''suggests'' a caption which is already associated with an image. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 23:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

::::::I hit the 2mb page limit at 10217 permalinks, out of the 15000+ I have found, so I've reduced the table to only show each image and text once. As in, ''either'' the image or text once, so there will be a couple of duplicate images and text. So what I said previously about sorting to see different captions for the same image no longer applies, but the page will be more manageable this way. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 13:53, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

::::::: So you think that it will not be possible for anyone to add the same image to the same caption, because this caption will never again come up with this image or the other way around? I can see yo have removed the ? where they where something else like turtles... Nice. What about all the links below? Are they just the other 10.000 links not associated with a new image or caption, just a different combination? If so maybe this should be made clear. You could make a new section heading for them. Would it be possible to list them in any other way, or is this to save space? Alternatively you could make a new subpage with extra permalinks for further study. We of course both know that no one will ever read these again ;-) But nice work anyway. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:17, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

:::::::: So far, I've never found the same image and same caption, but I'll keep checking, as I'm still storing all of the information, just not posting the full list to the wiki now. The other links at the bottom are all 15000+ permalinks I've found, good point about making that more clear. It might also be a good idea to list them on another separate page to save space, but they're not for further study, as I have all the images and captions associated with them, there just isn't room to display all of the information, because it would currently take 3mb+. Regarding the symbols, I was previously pasting my javascript output into my text editor to format them, but now I have my script format them for me, so the symbols are preserved. - and it's also a lot easier for me. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 14:29, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

:::::::: Well, I've hit the 2 megabyte limit again, so it looks like we'll have to put the table on one page and the list of links on another. Any suggestions for the page titles? -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 15:25, 23 April 2015 (UTC)
::::::::: You are crazy :-) My suggestion is that you create a new page called Table of Permalink (with the explanation at the top the same, but now linking to the old page, and vice versa for the old page to the new). Then let the list of permalink stay on the old page. And move the table to the new page. Finally, look at what pages direct to the old page, and redirect them to the new, only leaving link to the old page from the new one. The table is most important. The problem with your table is that it is too big for anyone to load... Maybe there should even be another page in between. Which is called - a selection of permalink. And then with link to the full table and links, with a fair warning about huge amount of data (Big data.). My explorer just went down trying to load the page (or maybe I'm just too impatient?) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 24 April 2015 (UTC) (Ah, now it is finished loading...)
:::::::::: Thanks. I haven't tried it in internet explorer, but the table loads okay with Chrome on my laptop I bought 7 years ago. Now that the pages are split, it might load faster for you. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 18:58, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

==[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript|Hoverboard Transcript]]==

Sorry to ask about such a minor thing, just curious about why the man on the raised plateau can't be a woman. Elsewhere in the comic Darth Vader is seen explaining Steven Universe to someone. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.43|108.162.221.43]] 13:46, 3 December 2015 (UTC)
:Hi - it cold be. But to me it looks like a family. But to be honest I had not expected anyone to change it, and did not notice before I had copy pasted some text in from the document I write the transcript in. But hopefully at some time this family (or whatever) becomes part of the effort to explain the entire comic. My guess is that someone will know who it is - that they are from some TV series or movie. In that case it will become clear if it is (as I assumed) a family with mom and dad and two children or if it is a lesbian couple or something entirely different... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

::The family resembles the main characters of Steven Universe, a cartoon(the characters being three women and a child) The explanation page also lists them as such(Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.64|173.245.55.64]] 21:03, 3 December 2015 (UTC)
:::Perfect thanks. Then is makes sense with the Vader reference. Is it the boy who is Steven? And is the low girl also a grown woman? I will look it up but thanks for answering. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:07, 3 December 2015 (UTC)
::::Fixed the transcript. Some of the link I put in, is not supposed to be there, but may be moved once they are explained in the main article.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:20, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

== Hair Bun "Girl" ==

Hi Kynde, I noticed you created the character page for "Hair Bun Girl". This naming convention is inconsistent with most of the other characters named here, e.g. Cueball, Ponytail, Hairy, et al. Beret Guy is a potential counterexample, but the words "guy" and "man" don't have the same relationship as "girl" and "woman". Partly for consistency, and partly for simple feminism, I'd like to open a conversation about changing the character's name please. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:08, 4 February 2016 (UTC)
:I think it is exactly the same as guy vs. girl. Hair Bun Woman is just too cumbersome. But if you can find a name like Ponytail that fits then by all means. Hairbun just doesn't do it for me. But I do not have any specific feelings for this name, I just found that she was used too often to not have a character page. So I will not take offence against you trying to find a better name through a conversation. Contraty to for instance Megan, which once was Cuetie (sexistick I think), it will not be so hard to change Hair Bun Girl's name to something else, but still she has just reached comic no. 20 so it is not easy to find all the references. Are you ready to do that job if you do get a new name for her? Because else it is just semantics --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:20, 4 February 2016 (UTC)
::Thanks, appreciate it. Yes I am ready to do the job. What would you recommend for next steps? Should I raise the issue at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination? [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:06, 7 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Your welcome, and good luck. Try to see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob|this post]] regarding the naming convention of [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] which much to my joy did not end up in altering anything, but they were "old" names, Hair Bun Girl is new. You could post you suggestion there. And maybe make a note at the top of [[Hair Bun Girl]]'s page? (You can write Notice as a template just like the incomplete. Check out this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cueball&oldid=92611 old version of Cueball page history]). Now that I think about it '''Hairbun''' is probably as good a name as [[Ponytail]]. So I would think that would be a decent proposal for a change. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:08, 7 February 2016 (UTC)
::::Okay, process started. Thank you for the good wishes and guidance. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:31, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

=== Girl With Hairbun? ===

I have identified several comics that have a girl (clearly a child) similar in appearance to Hairbun.
Examples include [[1104: Feathers]], [[1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing]] and [[1370: President]]. Would these people be included under Hairbun? Most of them are not marked as such. And what are the requirments to make a new character? I think this girl has appeared rather often. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.42}}
:Hi. If you look at the description for [[Hairbun]] it clearly states that she is an adult as are Ponytail and Cueball etc. So no, these examples should not be included in Hairbun category. If you look at the last entry on the talk page of President I suggested a children category. But I would agree that a category with curious girl or science girl could be relevant. She is also in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] for instance. If there are about five comics that could go in a new category it is just to create it. The naming is important though. See othere categories for what to write on the category page. I have made several including Hairbun --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:12, 27 May 2016 (UTC)
::Thanks for your input. I think I will be creating this category soon. Since most of the names seem to refer to the hairstyles (they are recognizable) I think I'll be going with the name "Double Bun Girl".

== Marking edits as minor edits ==
Hey, I noticed that you mark lot of your edits as minor edits while most of them aren't. For example, [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645%3A_Toasts&diff=112997&oldid=112996 this]] and probably [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113008 this]] too constitute as a minor edit, but these - [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=112997 [1]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113003 [2]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113009 [3]]], etc. aren't minor edits. Refer to the wikipedia guidelines for minor edits - {{w|Help:Minor_edit}}.
::Examples include typographical corrections, formatting and presentational changes, and rearrangements of text without modification of its content. A minor edit is one that the editor believes requires no review and could never be the subject of a dispute.
Basically, if you are adding/removing even a little bit of content, it is not minor. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:31, 21 February 2016 (UTC)

Oh, and how in the world is [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Thing_Explainer&curid=16286&diff=113034&oldid=113033 this ]] and [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1608:_Hoverboard&curid=16986&diff=113019&oldid=113013 this ]] minor !! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:47, 21 February 2016 (UTC)
:Sorry about that. I just updated my settings where it had been set to default: "Mark all edits minor by default". If I by mistake click OK to an update before clicking that off it was to late. But now it will be the other way instead. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:19, 22 February 2016 (UTC)
::Cool, no worries. It happens. I was just surprised that everything was marked minor. Anyway, keep up the good work. I see that you're finishing up all the incomplete explanations and improving comics in general. Great work ! :) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:04, 23 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Thanks for the support, nice to get some feedback. Also great that someone mentions when you are doing something the wrong way. I had only limited experience with wiki pages before signing up here, and I had not read the wiki page on minor edits, but now I have. How come you have chosen not to have an account? Seems like you also make several comments and changes... which is great ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:11, 23 February 2016 (UTC)

== Please create the discussion page for today's comic. ==
Thanks. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 15:02, 7 March 2016 (UTC)
:Well just did that (for [[1652: Conditionals]]) but not because I saw this comment, just before. I guess it is not possible for no registered users to create pages? Well I fulfilled your wish before I knew about it ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:05, 7 March 2016 (UTC)

== Moving comments around ==
Please do not move people's comments into unrelated discussions without asking them, and if you do, make sure the timestamps in the reply chain aren't out of order. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 20:36, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:I expect you were referring to [[Talk:1659: Tire Swing]]? Well all comments I moved were regarding the same question of who the girls looked like, and they should have been posted as replies to the first. There were no time stamp on the first comment and your post asking if they were children were posted straight under a post about if they were Megan and Hair Bun girl or Thelma and Louise. So I do believe your comment belong under that statement. But fine by my that it just stand beneath instead of being indented. The time stamp of all comments seem to be in time order as I see it. It would get really confusing or I would have to make the same reply three times if they were not together. The comments in between were not at all related and there should be no confusion. So I think it made the discussion page much more useful what I did.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:52, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
::Well I don't know about the other users, but I know for a fact that mine wasn't in response to the first one. I don't even know what the first one said, I just moved it from the explanation to comment page. And mine was posted immediately after it because I was chronologically the second comment made. I had no reason to wait (interestingly, you moved someone else's comment so that I was replying to it, even though it didn't exist when I posted.) [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 00:41, 24 March 2016 (UTC)
:::I cannot see that what you say is true about moving your comment. I just checked the history and here is what I found: 
'''This was what it looked like before my changes:''' 
--- 
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.

I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}

I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
 --- 
'''This what it looked like after:''' 
--- 
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.
:I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}
::I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:::The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
::::As the tire comes from a truck and it's diameter is more than half the height of these small girls they are definitely kids (not that Randall could not have made adults make a swing as like in [[150]]). Also this makes it much more funny that they both stole a car and beat up an angry adult. And now they are going all environmental after wards. So they are not Megan (which looks nothing like a curly haired girl) and also not Hair Bun Girl as it is defined that these characters are adults. There are many stories using kids and they will never represent Cueball, Megan or Ponytail etc. Those with hats are for instance never drawn small! Have thus corrected the explanation. But it still seems to miss much more on the environmental issue which is the subject/point of the comic if not the joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:19, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:Then they would have lost the fight: [[433: Journal 5]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:I think you are correct. We have one for our kids (though it sucked and we took it down again) and that was a brand new tire, but not one I think would be suitable for any car though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC) 
--- 
'''As can be seen'''
:::I have only moved one comment up, and that was not yours! That you did not check that there already seemed to be two comments above yours, about the appearance of the girls, doesn't mean that it would not make sense to pool all these questions and comments regarding exactly this topic together to give just one answer. And as you can see from the above '''I did NOT move your comments''', but I moved someone else's comment, in between the first and second of your comments, to be able to reply to all four things already written about the girls (ie. 1) The women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new? 2) I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) 3) I think they're children and 4) ... a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character?) All that was what I replied to, now possible to do in one go right beneath all four remarks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:47, 25 March 2016 (UTC)
::::There was only one comment before mine, and it was 2 paragraphs. You moving the second half into a reply of the first half caused some of the confusion here [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:54, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
:::::OK now I understand, so it was not your comment I moved, but the previous comment that I split in two (that was a mistake). That you did not answer to the comment above was of course not clear since it was on the same subject. Again this, as I understand it, was caused by someone posting a comment in the explanation, and you moving it into the comments section (which was fine, but made it hard to find out who posted what.) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:58, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

== Gardening ==

You mention "three links to images that did not work" in my "garden store for deer" entry. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png/739px-13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png These]
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png/739px-13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png three]
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png/739px-13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png links]
all work for me; they are images I tried to upload, scaled as large as the server would allow (739x461). Somehow I can upload images but not create image pages (also the spam protection is still triggered, so creating this account seems to accomplish nothing). It's very strange that the server has stored them but won't allow anyone else to view them (after logging out, it tells me I "must be logged in to upload files" instead of displaying the images). Someone should rescue the images from wherever they reside on the server.

The "face" I referred to (the second image) is really a cluster of leaves and branches: the bottom cluster of the rightmost tree looks like a head in profile, with curly hair, an eye, a grinning mouth, and a prominent nose. The two rightmost trees started with no branches (first image), but grew several when I placed a light above them. I moved the light so the face wouldn't be destroyed and tried to grow branches on the lower trunks. The third image is essentially the same as what you uploaded today.

Regarding Megan's office furniture: I'd actually pruned her second wand whenever it appeared, and then the bird took its place. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:29, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
:Hi .42 First I think it take a few days (three) before you are allowed to create new pages to fight off spam boots that we have had problems with. I cannot see you images I get the following message:
:'''Internal Server Error'''
:'''This file (13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png) doesn't belong to the current user.'''
:Cool that you have logged in as a user, although poor name ;-) On the other hand if you are a fan of Hitchhikers Guide then I guess it would be cool enough by the way. I'm happy to see that I finally get a chance to prune some of my gardens after several upsets since the comic came out. If I can help you with the images let me know. Maybe you can post them somewhere else and I can find upload them for you? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:34, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

::I'll try to upload tomorrow, then. I don't know where the server found the .42 IP address — that isn't my address! It's ''really weird'' that it chose this number. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 16:18, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Have you seen libra's [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=480#p3954408 purple light] gardens? [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 22:58, 11 April 2016 (UTC)
:No I had not. I like the stilt on platform up in tree. I did not know this could happen. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 12 April 2016 (UTC)

== [[1703: Juno|NASA versus the press]] ==
Hi Kynde. I'm afraid I disagree. It seems pretty clear to me that the question about the tip-off comes from NASA. I've added a topic to the talk page, where I explain my reasoning, and where this should be discussed if you still disagree. Thanks! [[User:Garik|Garik]] ([[User talk:Garik|talk]]) 16:52, 6 July 2016 (UTC)
:Yes I still disagree. To me it seems like a continuation of the conference and it is now the press to speak. And given that I knew Juno to be related to Jupiter but not that she was the daughter of Saturn (and given the reason for the naming in the real world) I would not say that the name in any way would lead anyone to take it as a hint for going to Saturn. But great to discuss it. Will post this on the [[Talk:1703:_Juno|talk page]] too. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:21, 6 July 2016 (UTC)

== 1712: Politifact ==
Hi, I'm the BOT and I'm BORG...

...nevertheless your enhancement to the transcript was too much. And I think your enhancements to the explain section is also overrunning the target.

But I just only did revert the transcript. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:19, 28 July 2016 (UTC)
:HI BORG... :/
:I Highly disagree with your changes.
:A transcript serves several functions:
#To make it possible to find out what any text/characters reads, even if it is hard to read in the comic.
#To make a description of what happens in the images. This has two purposes:
##So people with eye disabilities can find out what the comic is about. So here a full description of the comic is needed apart from the text.
##So it is possible to search the comic for info on the content, like a woman with a hat with a white tag.
#Finally it is great if the transcript represents the way it is written in the comic as close as possible including colors (which should also be described in the text for those that cannot see them selves). So tables, colors and formatting is fine. If the text then is harder to read it is possible to copy paste it.
:I can see there may have been a bit of explanation in that I wrote about what Megan did in the previous panel, but that is not enough to just undo the whole thing.
:I will reinsert the transcript and if you disagree then lets discuss either on that comic or in a general fora on what a transcript should contain.
:Regards, just Kynde. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 29 July 2016 (UTC)

== Follow-Up on that "Random Chat" ==
Hey dude! Uh... wow this is awkward. You said hi to me in the random chat on my user page. I said hi. Then we never said anything else to each other again. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:07, 25 October 2016 (UTC)
:Hi Jay. Not so awkward. :-) I mean you just said thanks, and thus did not really initiate any chat. Do you have anything in mind? Like something to be improved here on explain? Something larger maybe that could need discussion. Or anything else... Problem is of course that when I chat to you here, you do not get any reminder like when I chat on your page and visa versa. So I will make a post on your page that I have answered here... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:04, 25 October 2016 (UTC)
::Well, by that, I just meant a simple random chat. Like a "hey! how are you doing? that's nice... what do you like to do in your free time..?" kind of chat. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:18, 26 October 2016 (UTC)
:::Ah well, I guess I would not really like to have such a chat on these pages, so sorry that I misunderstood you. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:19, 26 October 2016 (UTC)
::::It's alright.. also.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :D --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:41, 31 October 2016 (UTC)
:::::Wow... it's (almost) a whole year since then. Time sure flies by, huh? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]][[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]] 12:34, 9 October 2017 (UTC)
::::::Yes that is true. Actually more since the first contact ;-) Haven't been so active the last half year. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:22, 11 October 2017 (UTC)

== [[1751: Movie Folder]] ==

Assuming that Black Hat only has good movies is rather absurd, as there's not a shred of evidence to support this. Especially since this is Black Hat we're talking about. Therefore, there's no evidence that Titanic 98 is about the ship hitting the reef, and therefore, the calculations about stacking 97 ships have no relevance. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.79.81|172.68.79.81]] 15:06, 1 November 2016 (UTC)
:Since this is relevant to a specific comic, I suggest that you just leave this comment on that specific comic's discussion board. Thank you. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 15:13, 1 November 2016 (UTC)
::Yes that is true Jay. Anyway there is reason to believe that Black Hat either thinks or teases Cueball with his movies, and thus he suggest that the movies he has are god. Also the other comment he makes suggest this. So I think there is a lot of evidence that this movie 98 is one in the series of movies where Titanic hits the reef of older Titanics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:05, 2 November 2016 (UTC)
:::Cueball names 7 movies, Black Hat replies to 4 of those. He has definitively positive things to say about 2 of those, and simply states information about another. In that context, there's no reason to assume his comment about the Titanic series should be interpreted as a claim that he considers Titanic 98 to be 'good'. And with only 2 of the other 6 known movies in his collection being stated as 'good', that's clearly not "a lot of evidence" that Titanic 98 is 'good'. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 21:24, 3 November 2016 (UTC)
::::Well we disagree on that then. If the explanation should be changed on the basis of this discussion it should be moved to the relevant discussion page. If it is the same person who wrote from both IP .81 and .86 you could move it there your self. Feel free to include my replies, but leave out Jays as that has nothing to do with the discussion. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:56, 4 November 2016 (UTC)
:::::[[Talk:1751: Movie Folder#Titanic XCVIII|Done]]. (Yes, .81 and .86 were me) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 16:57, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

== Transcript TLDR; ==
*I got so tired of Dgbrt's negative comments (TLDR;), that I have collapsed them here below. Fell free to read them if you really wish by clicking: --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
 
Please stop to write this massive texts into the transcript. Have a look at the discus at the last (1798) comic. And also think about that you are the only one who is entering those massive explains perhaps also nobody does read. LESS is often MORE! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:43, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:Maybe. I was under the impression that they where both there for those that had problems with vision, and also so you could search on something you remembered from a comic and find it using that tool. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::Even visually impaired persons don't like it (see 1798). And TLDR means "too long; didn't read", just in case. You should consider this. Reading the transcript should not take much longer than identifying the features from picture itself. Every spoken text and a short description what is shown should be suffice. At [[1799: Bad Map Projection: Time Zones]] even not every county must be mentioned; showing differences to a regular map projection should be enough because everybody knows a regular world map. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:44, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:::I completely disagree about only writing spoken text. The transcript is intended to make it possible to read all text in the image not just spoken text. It is often difficult to read all text, and also if people misread it or do not notice it by looking at the image, it will be there to find in the transcript, especially for those visually impaired. And what you said means there should be no transcript for the current comic [[1799]] where you linked to this discussion from. By the way I know what TLDR means, and also did not ask about it, if you noticed! I have seen it used here before, probably regarding something you wrote! ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::I agree with Dgbrt. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:50, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:::I expect mainly people who agree comes here, as people who are not troubled by it, might not care enough. ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::::The first criticism was done by a visually impaired person (Zetfr 23:11, 13 February 2017 (UTC)) at [[Talk:1798:_Box_Plot]]. That was the reason for me to start this discussion.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:::::Yes thanks for pointing that out. I had not read his comments when I replied before. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::Another reason for detailed transcripts with image descriptions is that sometimes people have misunderstood what is in the image, and then a transcript can be used to make sure what is there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:::All that may go into the explain section; it doesn't belong to the transcript.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::::Yes maybe, but will the visibly impaired not also be annoyed about it there. Then maybe in a trivia section if there is need. I will try that for [[1798]] I think. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)

Maybe not known to all. In the past Randall provided a transcript on each comic. It is in a hidden div-tag. Then something went wrong and the transcript actually belonged to an older comic. Right now there is no transcript anymore. But have look at this example (shown on https://xkcd.com/1664/ for https://xkcd.com/1662/):
<pre>
[[Two children, a girl and a boy, are talking to an adult woman as they walk away from her. The boy has a bucket.]]
Girl: Me and Jack are going up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
[[The children have left; the woman calls after them.]]
Woman: Okay, have fun! [[The woman stands and thinks.]]
Woman: ... wait. What the heck is going on with the hydrology around here?
{{Title text: Jill and Jack began to frack. The oil boosts their town. But fractures make the bedrock shake and Jack came tumbling down.}}
</pre>
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:07, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:Yes I tried to include this on explain xkcd by making a [[xkcd#Transcript_on_xkcd|description]] of it on the [[xkcd]] page some weeks ago. Transcript are of course even more important now that there are no longer transcripts on xkcd. The first problem arose after the [[Hoverboard]] comic where the transcript for all comics after that was shifted two and later three comics from the one they belonged to. The last of those shifted transcript ended with [[1674]] whose transcript was found three comics later at [[1677]]. But also comics with transcript needs a better transcript here on xkcd, to include other written text, and small important details, as well as we are using given names for characters which Randall has never used (or only rarely uses). Actually Randall has once made a direct link to Explain xkcd for a better transcript. Alas there was not transcript until this year, where I made it: See this [[Payloads#Trivia|trivia]] under [[Payloads]].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

I'm glad this discussion is finally taking place. I raised the point a while back on [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#purpose_of_detailed_transcripts the community portal] but nobody noticed. I tried again on [[1795]] but attention had already moved on to the next comic... Seems I got it right this time ;-)
Different people may have different uses for the transcripts. For me, being visually impaired, the right level of detail is that of Randall's official transcripts. It should include every written word in the comic (spoken, printed, in captions, etc.) and just enough information on what's going on to "get it", but not how things are drawn. E.g. "Cueball is talking to Megan", not "Cueball, on the left, has his right arm extended towards Megan who is sitting on a chair" (unless the chair somehow plays a part in the story). Imagine you're talking on the phone: "hey, I saw a great comic this morning, here is how it goes..." and then "tell" yor friend the joke, rather than "describe" the comic. BTW, I think this also serves your goal of being able to search old comics for a specific element. The element you'll remember will be something important to the comic's story, not a graphical detail such as a character's position or the number of lines drawn around his hand to indicate movement. Anyway, thanks for the good work!! Zetfr 16:18, 16 February 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks for the input, especially to Zetfr. I had not seen your comment on 1795 or in the community portal. I'll have a look, and thanks to Dgbrt for letting me know about your latest comment. I will try to keep out the details in the transcript. For me personally I have often been looking for a specific thing, like searching for the comic where Cueball stands on a chair with a sword or rotates in an office chair. As I could not remember any lines spoken, and because those making the transcript had not mentioned either spinning office chair, or sword, I could not search my way to them even in this explain page. I have found them later, but by chance. And then I put in the details. Maybe I have gotten carried away, so sorry about that. I think the details somehow belongs, but if that should be in the trivia, or at the bottom of the transcript...? I'm not sure, which was also why I put it in the transcript. Being the one who makes the most edits and also hard work (large tables, and huge transcripts) I'm happy Zetfr likes the page :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:09, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
::I have changed the transcript for [[1795]] putting the details into a subesection of the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:38, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:::Hi Kynde, I still disagree with this subsection solution. You don't have to repaint the picture by text! If a detail is important for understanding a pun it has to be mentioned in the transcript itself; otherwise it is useless and oversized. E.g.: Nobody wants to know -- and wont remember later -- if there are two, three, four, or five sound symbols and how they are painted. The single word "SOUND" describes all. And please consider: Nobody reads those long texts. LESS is often MORE!.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:04, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
::::Hi Dgbrt. We can movie it into a trivia. I think some of it is relevant, and sometimes it is hard to find out which part will be searched for later. But I guess we two alone would end in a [[1800: Chess Notation|½-½]] for this discussion so far... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:41, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:::::I completely agree with Dgbrt. The transcript should say *what* Randall wants to tell us, not *how* he tells it. In most cases this should also work to let you search for details you remember. In your example, Cueball holding a sword is certainly important to the comic's point, so it should be mentioned in the transcript. But the length and position of the sword are irrelevant, and probably not what you'll search for. Obviously, there is no hard rule to decide what should or shouldn't go into the transcript, it's a matter of personal judgment and common sense, but I think we can all agree on general guidelines. Regarding the "Detailed image description" section tested in [[1795]], I have no problem with that. I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but it won't do any harm either, so if you're willing to put in the extra work, go for it. Zetfr 12:17, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
::::::Thanks Zetfr. About the extra details, they could be put into a section where you had to press to see the extra details. I do not know if a reader will pass over that. For instance like I have done with explanation for several categories like [[:Category:New Year]] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Nice find for [[1461:_Payloads]], I didn't now Randall refers to this wiki. According to ''web.archive.org'' that hint was entered between 2015-01-25 and 2015-02-07 and refers to the entire wiki page, not only "our" transcript. So it's absolutely NOT embarrassing as you wrote in the trivia section. I'm setting an incomplete tag for the transcript and trivia section and edit it tomorrow (18th Feb). I will let you know what I've done and why. Stay tuned...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:59, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:The rework on [[1461:_Payloads]] is done. But I didn't remove the incomplete tag. That's up to you. Like Zetfr I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but the larger description on a separate page would be acceptable to me. Furthermore I've done some investigations on Randalls links to this wiki and put it together in a new category: [[:Category:Explain_mentioned_by_Randall]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:57, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
::Thanks both for the "nice find" and for reworking Payloads, and especially for the new category. Great find. I will look at the other examples soon. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Many thanks by me for this positive and productive discussion. It seems there are some more former transcripts which need a rework. I personally will focus on checking all the JSON-scripts I downloaded today (1799 at all; ofcourse 404 doesn't exist; and exactly seven contain the word "explainxkcd"). I will write a small script to put them into a human readable form and present it somewhere here for further use. Stay tuned... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:45, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks Dbgrt. And really cool how you made that new category. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:14, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

== [[xkcd]] page and subpages ==

You moved some contented into subpages which doesn't make it better. There is no need to describe in [[Design of xkcd.com]] a layout everybody can see. The lemma "Design" requires just a few lines of text but you repeat all the "Content". And just for interest: Before the redirect to https was in place (a few weeks ago) there was language specific advertising for the shop. I'm looking forward for a better and more compressed form on all of this. Any suggestions?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:07, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
:Hi Dgbrt. My reason for making this page, is that the links, the comics, the headline, the byline, the warning etc. all changes with time, and I would like users of this site to have easy access to earlier links. Just like we have a category for the fotter comics (which I by the way did not make, but enjoyed, because I never thought absolute that he must have had them before all those five comics had been published and that they thus must have changed). So I thought similar things would be nice to have for changes to the layout and hence I decided to describe it. Maybe it was too much, but I like to have the archive links to changes. And since I had already done lots of work on this, I just copied all the new text to another page, to not delete it. And yes as I have said on Davidy's page I should not have put it on the xkcd page to begin with. But when I started I had no idea it would end up soooo long. Waiting to hear your comments on this info, before going further with suggestions. But thanks for asking. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:16, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
::All those pages are on my agenda; your edit or not. I don't care. But I will not delete any content without an agreement. I will present something in a sandbox at my user page. You are welcome there (not before tomorrow). And consider, this wiki is not a backup for archive.org.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:56, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
:::I think this wiki is for explaining xkcd, not just the comics. I believe you agree as I have seen on Davidy's talk page. And major changes or important revisions to the main page is important in my opinion. For instance I'm sad to see that the [[xkcd warning]] has gone from xkcd, and think it is important to let it be know it was there for many years. Where to do so? And how to find it if you did not know about it? There need to be a place that links to it, directly or indirectly through the xkcd page. I look forward to see you [[Time|sand castle]]. :-) Please leave a comment here when you have something you wish me to see, with a link. Regarding you answer to my comment, I meant that I would hear what you had to say before I came with suggestions. Not that you should not do anything before I made one. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 24 February 2017 (UTC)

== I am still calm... ==

...why I shouldn't? You see things inspiring others to see more things... (<- you would wrote 500 words for this) and you are still not able to put the pun on the top of an explanation. Keep your focus on the pun, not on every Million possibilities behind the drawing. And you can be sure I will have an eye on this because this is NOT "dreamingxkcd".--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:15, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
:Well I'm not! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:09, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

== Aggressive edits ==

While I was talking to others about the explanation and the transcript for more than 24 hours you need only one hour to change everything that was discussed before. Again all red is yours: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1810%3A_Chat_Systems&diff=137245&oldid=137225 1810: Chat Systems changes]. Editors, mainly not me, don't like it when all their work is changed after you finished your edits. Please respect other editors! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:50, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
:I do not change everything. I add. But we are obviously not going to agree on this. I would prefer not to discuss with you. How do yo know what the others like or not. In the discussions we have had I found more against your way of communication than against my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:57, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
::Massive changes and you call it add??? So tell me your adds and explain how all they other changes happened. I will add a sentence to the comic discussion because it's senseless here.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:14, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Yes it is. And it is a real shame that you have decided to know how this wiki should be. Hope that Davidy soon tells one of us to back off. If it is me then I will have to take it into account. So far he has only had nice things to say to me about my work here, which is not what I have seen regarding your work. Have you read the other users that calls your tone negative/aggressive or even worse? I have really tried to speak nicely to you, but you never seems to accept any edits I do. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:21, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
::::Your "Citation needed" template add to my text is just one example for what I call aggressive. Hiding four paragraphs is an other.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:09, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
</div>
 

== Possible Issues with Updating Old Comics ==

I know you spent a lot of time making edits to many older comics, so I thought you might have some input on one that I'm thinking needs a change - 38 Apple Jacks. I noticed you edited it a little a couple years ago. It's the one where the father tells his son they don't taste like apples, and his son tells him off.

The title text description says it appears to be another case of Randall explaining the comic to readers who don't know about the old commercial, but I think it might be the father telling the son why he was saying that to him. I think it's worth at least adding, if not totally replacing the current description, but I see you had previously added to it during your edits.

How would you handle that type of change, if it were you? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:38, 3 April 2018 (UTC)
: Hi Ianrbibtitlht
:I disagree with the idea you have. And my reason for that is based in the original quote from Randall when posting this comic to live journal where he asks:
::"Who else remembers those commercials?"
::See the comics [[38:_Apple_Jacks#Trivia|Trivia section]].
::To me indication that since no one did, he added the explanation in the title text.
:The son dismissed his father completely, and I do not think the father goes on.
:And since many of xkcd's readers may not know the reference he explains it in the title text.
:He did the same with the title text in [[30: Donner]], which is what is refereed to in the title text explanation. I have added links between these two examples. There may be more.
:Of course you are free to add an alternative explanation, and see if any one notices enough to complain about/remove it. ;-)
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

::I appreciate the feedback. I don't feel strongly enough to modify it at this point but thought it might be an added insight that nobody had thought about! ;-) [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

:::Thanks for asking, by the way. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:46, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

== Need help ==
A few things. Several people have mentioned that ReCAPTCA v1 has expired, and something needs to be done about that. But no one has replied to the admin forum, so not sure what is going on. Are there even any admins still here? Seems like they've all disappeared. And should we create a new forum for questions and things like that? And if all the admins have left, should there be like more admins or something like that? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:51, 8 April 2018 (UTC)
:Hi
:I haven't any idea about ReCAPTCA and Im not an admin. But yes if there is no one that replies it is a problem. Davidy is the obe I have had discussions with but he did not reply the last two times I wrote. Don't know if DGBRT with the BOT has any knowledge that can be used. Try those two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:30, 9 April 2018 (UTC)
::FYI, we still have admins here and there will be a major update soon at one of the next weekends. BTW, I prefer it in lowercase: dgbrt - like xkcd--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:16, 16 April 2018 (UTC)
:::Thanks for the info dgbrt, and it sounds greawt. (Your signature is with capital D but that is maybe just as the username? I will use dgbrt from now on). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 23 April 2018 (UTC)

== All is red again - you changed everything according to the diff ==

Hi, look at [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1981%3A_Rickrolling_Anniversary&diff=155913&oldid=155905 your edits] and tell me how someone can see what you have changed. Please keep your changes to smaller parts.

And beginning an explanation with a youtube link which even doesn't work in some countries like Germany is also not a god start to an explanation. I'm referring to your edits above. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:27, 16 April 2018 (UTC)
:OK, sorry about that. I will try to make smaller changes. The link was not one I put in, I just moved it to the beginning to rickroll someone - it was a joke... Of course if the link did not work I can understand why you did not get Rickrolled. But the link had already been included in the explanation before my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 18 April 2018 (UTC)
::Thanks for your understanding, "all is red..." was the reason why I started this section, the video link was meant as a minor remark and that it doesn't work in Germany is even less important for the explanation.
::But I didn't understand your joke. So what do you think about changing all the internal links like [[Cueball]] to rickroll the readers - of course only less important links.
::BTW: Around 2009 and some years later the German GEMA Mafia tried to block all music content until they got the money. Even dashcam videos from the meteorite incident in Chelyabinsk were blocked when you could hear something from the radio in the car. This has changed and newer uploads are now available to me (including Rick). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:02, 18 April 2018 (UTC)
:::The joke was that this comic was about rickrolling and the link was to the ricrolling youtube video... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:30, 19 April 2018 (UTC)

I just tried to make several smaller changes, and it was much more difficult to me, with the risk of making mistakes... But have a look at this then: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1982:_Evangelism&action=history Evangelism history].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:45, 19 April 2018 (UTC)
:I like that but the development of this comic explanation is funny and not a typical one. Many vast changes were done after your comment here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:01, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
::Well happy you do. Most of the changes were improvement, but often based on or improving parts I had edited (well I had edited most parts ;-) What I meant was that some of the good changes only came about because of the changes I had done in the first place. Still seems we need a citation for primates opening at the "wrong" end though? {{unsigned|Kynde}}
:::You know I'm a fan of short explanations just covering what's in the comic. And in [[1982: Evangelism]] there is no "wrong banana end" mentioned. It just mentions "the other" - which is of course always "wrong". The title text then indeed refers to a schism in Europe - the Americans weren't much developed by that time (excepting the natives).
:::BTW: My major workload here right now is working on the health of this wiki. You probably haven't seen my latest comment five days ago just a section above. We will get an update soon. Stay tuned.
:::BTW2: You have forgotten to sign your comment ;)
:::--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:19, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
::::Yes we are not fan of the same type of explanations we have covered that. I believe that the majority of humans do peel the banana from the opposite end of that cited (without citations) to what primates do... I'm not sure there is any year for the schism in Europe so who knows how developed the US was at that time. Bananas is a rather new thing in Europe I believe!
::::And no I had not seen that comment, probably same time you posted this comment thread? But sounds great! Are you an admin now? And do you have any contact with Davidy... He went off the xkcd explain grid long time ago.
::::I have amended my mistake and will sign this time ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:12, 23 April 2018 (UTC)

== You blanked the page [[1996]] ==

A you can see [[Talk:1995: MC Hammer Age|here]] "I decided to let it stay there as it is but on Monday that redirect will AND must be overwritten in the meaning of a comic number." That blank page isn't better than my decision. Beginning on Monday the number 1996 MUST be used for navigation (i.e. Comic Number) and nothing else.

Other future comics will be: 1999, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2038. That's all!

All those future comics (by number) - beginning with 1996 on Monday - AND that older ones (by name) should have a disambiguation line on top when the comic number overrides that name.

The problem is the logic at this wiki. While at xkcd the number and name have different meanings and navigation is only done by number it's not true here. While <nowiki>https://xkcd.com/1996</nowiki> will lead to the next future comic and is unique the link <nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/1996</nowiki> could mean number OR name. We also use the number for navigation, so the abbreviation in the meaning as a comic name can not be supported for those eight comics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:58, 19 May 2018 (UTC)
:Hi DBBRT
:I first saw your comments after I had blanked it. And I thought it was better to avoid confusion over the weekend. So I did not return it. I think it could be better to already now remove those page re-directions for the comics you mention now, to avoid confusion on all those numbers... A lot of those the next 20 comic or so. We already had a similar situation with [[1337]], because of the LEET comic series. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 23 May 2018 (UTC)
::Read my future comic list above, it's only seven. And the blank page confused some users also. Nevertheless I will change the comic template, navigation to the right will not be shown when the target is greater than the LATESTCOMIC. The BOT will update those redirects anyway. I just prefer some tests at home to figure out the best solution before editing here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:53, 23 May 2018 (UTC)
:::Well, I think 7 times confusing in 20 comics is a lot, but I can read that you are working on avoiding it, so that is great. I'm very impressed by your bot, but then again I have very little programming experience and it was back in my days as a PhD Student around 2002... (Pascal...) Great you have made it and keep improving it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 25 May 2018 (UTC)
::::Thanks for your kind words. I still don't understand the 20, it's only seven comics and I've changed the global comic template so that this is SOLVED now. There is no link to [[1999]] in the navigation bar today. But on Monday my bot will update that page in the meaning of a comic number and the right navigation in [[1998: GDPR]] will be shown. FYI: I'm a professional programmer. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:04, 25 May 2018 (UTC)
:::::Must have been unclear. I meant that over the next 20 comics, there would have been this issue 7 times i.e. about once every week, and I found that it could have caused confusion a lot in those 7 weeks. But now you have solved this with you prof. programmer skills. ;-) So there is no longer any problems. Great work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:04, 27 May 2018 (UTC)
::::::Thanks for your kind words. And I've done more: Embedding pictures from Commons works again and it's now also possible to change the size. See my latest edit here [[1400: D.B. Cooper]] which uses this statement <nowiki>[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]</nowiki>. That image is not uploaded here, click at it in the comic and you will see. I've mentioned this in the Community portal. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:07, 27 May 2018 (UTC)
:::::::Cool. I'm not sure how this works. Looks at first like the image is on the local wiki but I can see it is not so. But how does this works. Can you write the "File" formula for any picture name on commons and then get it embedded here like that? It is beyond my computer skills :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:02, 28 May 2018 (UTC)
::::::::When the picture isn't here it's searched on Commons. When it's found it's only cached at this wiki. In general it works like a local file. This did already work in the past until it was broken. But now we also can change the size, play with that 150px in the preview. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:15, 28 May 2018 (UTC)
:::::::::Thx --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 28 May 2018 (UTC)

== Why you still focus on that SAD comics? ==

I focus on all edits done here and your edits are minor (there are much more edits here needing some attention), nonetheless I would be happy to find a solution on that ''sad'' thoughts are in your mind. I respect your thoughts, but that trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' really dohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Kyndees not belong to that comic at all. It was deleted before, you reverted that -- by not reading or ignoring the discussion page -- and I just want to prevent an edit war. Furthermore I removed your statement about "trolls" at the discussion page because that's not polite.
*And now
**I start
***with
****your layout
*****You see???
Try to write full sentences without bullets. I'm hoping you understand my major two parts here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:21, 27 October 2018 (UTC)
:Yes I did not read the comments. I was looking for the sad list, when I fond it missing. I saw through the edit and found the following comment:
::This "sad comics" list is utterly pointless and has no reason to exist. I don't regret deleting this waste. If anyone wants to keep it up, revert the edit, but make it readable, compact, and make at least one bit of sense. (Emojis? must be TRUMP!!?!one1!))
:I did not see any discussion there, and found it rude and also not done properly (with many links pointing to this section). So I just reverted it. It could be given its own page though.
:Regarding politeness I must say I did not find most of your comments on the talk page polite as I just read them. As you state "no one has criticized it before", so maybe it is just you, and now some years later a few guys that begins rambling on about it.
:As to why, I think it is quite clear that Randall was sad after the election. Maybe I took it too far, and it should no longer have been "sad", but about comics pointing to a political agenda by Randall. As Randall is on the move again with the mid term election coming, he has both a new political comic out, and has changed the header text with regards to registering for voting twice in a month.
:So I definitely still find it relevant. That has not changed just because two years have passed. What Trump does at the moment is even more disturbing than ever, and I'm sure Randall is thick and tried of it still! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:38, 29 October 2018 (UTC)
::PS. The layout was me trying to make a list of comics that was related to this issue. And with date and events listed as well. Maybe it can be done better, but I at least kept the format throughout. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:39, 29 October 2018 (UTC)
:::You always do this nested bullet lists. That's ugly layout. One bullet and one or two short sentences, not more. In most cases you just should simply omit the bullets and write full sentences. The page [[Design of xkcd.com]] is an other example for this bad layout.
:::But back to the main issue: Even jet you did not read the comments completely. Only after "A) Why does the sad comics list exist (see comment above)?..." I came in. And on 27 October 2018 I mentioned at least four incomplete reasons (the transcript was you).
:::So I recall: The trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' does not belong to that comic at all, and even at a different page the title would be wrong because most of the listed comics are NOT sad. Furthermore I don't know how you do know how Randall feels, he is just a writer and these are only comics.
:::There was a reason why David was against a category for sad comics, and this is still valid. This is the only reason why this section at the trivia of 1756 exists, be honest.
:::So my proposal is:
:::*moving the content to a separate page, either with a new title or only moving the "sad" content and deleting the rest
:::*using the link from the menu: "What links here" at 1756 ([[Special:WhatLinksHere/1756: I'm With Her]]) to fix the links to that part (mostly your former work) and maybe also change the text
:::The comic 1756 has to be explained mainly in the context of the time BEFORE the election. It was a campaign for Hillary Clinton, anything later done by Trump is irrelevant, besides that it has to be mentioned that the campaign wasn't successful. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:16, 29 October 2018 (UTC)
::::Well, I definitely know that the comment in here is mine. I did very much hate the list because, as mentioned in the talk page on the comic, the section was completely disorganized. It took up half of the entire page. As Dgbrt mentioned, the format you use is honestly really ugly, and I have to agree. The real problem that I found was ''after'' I posted the comment he quoted.
::::In that comment, I mentioned that it should have had its own category instead of being completely on that single page, which would have prevented it from the eyes of those who don't like this format. Alternatively, it could have been in a table, a format much more compact, several times easier to understand, and at least 12 octillion times less infuriating to look at.
::::The other mind-boggling and frankly stupid thing about the list, of course, was that you added '''''every. Single. Comic.''''' ...if it seemed to be remotely sad (and even if it ''wasn't sometimes!'') and tried to link it to the political situation and Trump. I, in that comment, presented two of the comics in a - admittedly more asshole-ish - way that you linked them like this. But that's the ''core'' of all of this drama. Hell, in multiple of the comics, you even said that no "big" event seemed related to the situation and simply just put it in because it mentioned the military or security. And even for some of the ones you did present a political event, the speculation that you presented for Randall making these comics was beyond 4chan with Smash Ultimate level.
::::Like I said in that comment, it isn't necessarily a political comment just because something big happened that day. Vomiting Emoji and Flag, the two I highlighted in my comment, have explanations that are just plainly absurd. Randall "expressing fear" that the moon would be gone before the eclipse was ''obviously'' a joke. Randall making a joke that has a flag in the picture doesn't mean he's going to rebel against the United States, make his own country, and science his way to taking it over just so that Trump is no longer the ruler.
::::I wouldn't have had these problems if the list weren't so outlandishly absurd, and combined with the fact that it clogged up the page with a lot of meaningless speculation, I felt pushed to just delete the entire thing. Yes, that may have been extreme of me, and I should apologize for being fed up, but I still maintain that a lot of the stuff on that list is bad. If it's presented in - again - a way that doesn't hurt to read or filled up with what it is, I would have not as many problems with it. But as it looks right now, just making the list collapsible doesn't remove the problem; it's like putting White-Out on a yellow test paper and saying that the question never existed, despite the fact that it's obvious that something is wrong. [[User:Halo422|Halo422]] ([[User talk:Halo422|talk]]) 04:05, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
:::::A bit complicated to reply now. But to Dgbrt I did not read any comments until your post here. I was pissed about the deletion of the entire section, and just undid it. As Dgbrt wrote it can only be deleted properly by also removing links that goes there. I'm not using the page that much at the moment, and do not read all comments. This is also why I first see your comments today.
:::::Dgbrt do you have any good idea for a page title? If it is only the first few comics that are clearly sad, could it then be called "Sad comics"? And should it be a page or a category? If we can find a solution for that, I will try to change it so it can be tolerable... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:01, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::::I'm honest: I vote for deleting that section. The main reason is that we don't know how Randall feels, whether sad or not. We just have comics, not an autobiography.
::::::If you still vote for keeping I only can see two possibilities:
::::::*Keep the title "Sad comics", move it to a single page (no subpage to any comic), remove most of the content, write a proper text instead of bullets, and start it like "Some comics may suggest the impression..." because your "...clear trend..." is nonsense.
::::::*Or, move everything to a separate page, but then I have no idea about any proper title.
::::::BTW: I've created a new category: [[:Category:Elections]], and as I mention here [[:Talk:2067: Challengers]] it still needs some work. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:06, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:::::::I will think about the possibilities. And I did see your new category. Which is great by the way. There must be many of these from earlier years also?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:09, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::::::I need help on this new category because I'm sure there is more. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:12, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::I have now created [[Sad comics]] and moved the content from With her and tried to make the layout better. I do not agree with deleting the references to the other comics, but not they have been separated from the first four sad/negative comics. All links have been diverted to this page from all 16 comics. If there are other comics, not on the list, with link to that section I have not changed those... Many comics could refer to With Her for many reasons so I will not go through them all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:55, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:::You've done a big job, so thanks for this on the first place. And I can assure you that you always can find all links at the tools box "What links here", in this case when reading ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]''. I'm still not happy seeing comics like [[2064: I'm a Car]] linking to content titled as ''sad'', but that's up to other editors.
:::'''ProTip''': You should watch pages important to you, just activate "Watch this page" at the bottom when editing, or adjust your "Watchlist" at the top menu belonging to your personal profile. You will receive an email on every change. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:31, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::Yes I know about the links, but even though I have reverted the link to the sad trivia section, there may still be a link to the With her comic for other reasons. And there may even be links to the sad section from other comics not listed in my trivia, and I will not go through all pages referencing one of the controversial comics. I by the way highly disagree that we do not know Randall's political opinion. He has also endorsed Obama, so to day it is certain that he endorses the democrats vs Republican is a fact, not a guess. But you changed that on the new [[Challengers]] comic. I will not change it though. I just highly disagree with you on what is a know and what is a guess there.
::::Regarding the comics that are not sad it is not listed as being sad, that is only the first four. The rest is just listing comics that could have to do with Randall's political mood due to Trump and his politics.
::::I no longer have the time I once dedicated to this page... And hence I have taken e-mail alerts off, which is why I first noticed the deletion now. But I get e-mails on personal changes on this page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:37, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:::::While I'm still sure not knowing much about Randall's condition when his comics are published, I sense ''you'' are sad. I insist you should take a closer look on all your contributions here, which are much more than only this stupid sad stories. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:18, 4 November 2018 (UTC)

== I am still happy to see your additions here... ==

...you did edits I didn't like - and vice versa - but that's a war I don't like. And now I'm in a position in which I have to take care of all the health here, not only what's written.

Ironically: xkcd is also about sarcasm, the hell, shoooouuuuting on the hellll...

I will probably disagree on some of your future edits, but I don't have to judge this. That's up to others here.

So now I'm asking for help on a SMALL page introducing the memes used at this site. Like the Editor-FAQ I did. David did...not that much on that requests over a long time.

While I'm not sure about a proper title, this Wiki still leaks on a page simply showing the memes used here, linking to more specific pages, presented to evrey newbee.

--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:06, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
::Thanks.
::I'm not sure I understand the page you are talking about, or what type of memes you mean.
::Also as is probably clear I'm not using that much time on this wiki anymore. I'm not leaving it, I just do not have the time any longer. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
:::Oh, I'm also not sure, maybe just a title like "About". It often happens that new people asking questions like "Why is the mouse-over text called title text?", how character names have been developed here, and so forth. A simple page, mostly showing links with a small introduction to the more hidden pages you often maintain. New readers have simple questions we don't think about anymore, that's what I would like to present. But it seems I have to collect some more items on which you maybe can help. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:34, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
:::Ah I see. It was the meme part that failed to register. But a about page makes sense. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 20 November 2018 (UTC)

== We got a final image ==

Emoji dome has a wonderful ending image. Do you mind putting it as the current explainxkcd image? [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 18:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
:No it is perfect. I can see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:emojidome.png someone already did], it has just not been updated on the front of the page yet. It will be before tomorrow. The other pictures should be collected on a extra page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:56, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== Removing all references to the Sad comics page ==

Hi Kynde,

I've expressed my intention to remove all references to the Sad comics page over at [[Talk:Sad_comics]], but I wanted to get your input too, since it is your page. Feel free to drop a comment over there if you want to contest this. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 12:56, 13 May 2019 (UTC)
:Hi Hawthorbn. Thanks for alerting me. Did not follow the discussion page on Sad. I of course disagree. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:56, 14 May 2019 (UTC)

== 2196 ==
I mentioned this on DgbrtBOT's talk page, but I'm not sure Dgbrt saw it. Since you're an admin, could you help me with this?
# I uploaded the file, and it appeared in the page, but the link in the List of all comics page is still red. I think I messed up the upload, so could you delete the current file (the one I uploaded) for 2196 and reupload it?
# I created an incorrect redirect page [[Nice To E-Meet you]] (The name is incorrect, I forgot to capitalize the You). Could you please delete that page? Thanks!
[[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:52, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
:Hi Herobrine. No I'm not ad admin, just very active, and cannot do anything to delete pages. I can give it a look though cause I have created a few pages long time ago when the bot was not there/working. And yes seems like Dgbrt is not active at the moment. Lets see if it works again this Monday. As you can see [[User_talk:Dgbrt#DgbrtBOT_failed_2019-08-30|here]] I tried to write directly to him. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:38, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
::Can see you have created the page with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nice_To_E-Meet_You&redirect=no capital You] and I have now moved the image to a title with the hyphen in e-meet, which was missing in your original edit. So now [[List_of_all_comics]] works for the image as well. There are so many things which can go wrong, which is why we love out BOT. Hope it works tomorrow.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:46, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

== Category book promotion ==
Hi, you obviously know a thing or 2 about creating and adding categories, and like to do so :)
I feel like we could need a category about book promotion, with at least 3 comics related to how to and at least one to thing explainer (hoverboard, possibly also up goer five...), and myabe even others I can't remember right now. What do you think? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:31, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Maybe more a list of comics that promote books. Not comics that inspire books, so no to Up Goer Five. But it could get special mention with mention of the category in that explanation as well. But I think we need to find more than 4, five is kind of a limit. Maybe there where something for what if? But I do not think so... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::Looking at it again, we do have five :) [[Hoverboard]], [[2190: Serena Versus the Drones]], [[2198: Throw]], [[Disappearing Sunday Update]] and [[2194: How to Send a File]]
:::Well great. Do you have an idea for the category name? "Category:Book promotion" ??--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:54, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::::Sounds good to me! --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:56, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:::::Will you add that category to the comics? I can help create the page then. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:57, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::::::Done --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:07, 4 September 2019 (UTC)
:::::::[[:Category:Book promotion]] page created and found another comic that promotes a book Randall has been involved in! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

== Broken Button ==
Hi Kynde, I've answered your question on my talk page. But I'll post it here just in case: I think you forgot to update [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]], so it would treat comic 2198 as 2197, hence breaking the button. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 22:55, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Thanks, DgbrtBOT has updatet it and now it works! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

== Thanks ==

I see you went through a few of my recent edits, and corrected them / replied on them / acted on them. Thanks a lot. Also, now I learned from your edits how subcategories work. Thanks also for that. :) (But, please try not to change the word typo to lupo in common use. I don't think it would be an honour :) ) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)
:I hope you could see the joke. Like when you fixed the fix? I also spotted you put a hidden joke . I will not make the same joke again. I guess it was also a kind of signature. I spotted that you where the most active last month. And was interested seeing what kind of edits. More or less I agreed with most... And cool with the spam fight. Do not use the same amount of time as I used to, but have been more active lately... Just became 2nd on all time activity list... Happy you both noticed and approved. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:09, 11 October 2019 (UTC)
::I could see the joke and I enjoyed it :) as I tend to make a lot of typos, it isn't even that far fetched to use my name instead ;). I usually visit the site a few times a day and start on the recent changes page, and check what has happened. That's also how I often quickly find the spam. The other thing I tend to do when I got some free time on my hands is use the "random page" button and find out if I can improve the place I get to. I also saw that you are progressing a lot in the all time list. Last month I even noticed you were in the monthly list at a score that would have put you in the all time top 50 on its own. Impressive! Have a good weekend. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 20:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)
:::I'm also not native English speaker (Danish), and my grammar is probably horrible. Then it is great it is a wiki so others can fix that. I hope my additions are a plus. Have of course had rows with others, as can be seen above ;-) With some of the big one I think I have had months that would put me in top 20... (Not something I have checked). But with some of the comics where I added a lot of images, I will get a very high score as unique pages gives one point, and every picture uploaded is a new page. The amount of changes I have made puts me in nr. 1 spot, but that doesn't give much compared to number of pages visited. And please feel free to correct my typos. By the way I haven't even read all comics yet, since I have a hard time reading a new one without wishing to make corrections to transcript or explanations, so it takes some time every time I find a new. So between the first comic I saw when I found this page and then back from there there will be lots of comics I haven't even seen yet... Probably why you can find so many transcripts where caption below the panel has not been added (as it was I who began making this the way to write it). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:46, 11 October 2019 (UTC)

== Category for Back to the Future ==

Hi, can you create a category for the film series ''Back to the Future''? To start, there is [[102: Back to the Future]], [[656: October 30th]], [[1477: Star Wars]], [[2104: Biff Tannen]], [[2193: Well-Ordering Principle]], and maybe others. Thanks, [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.144|172.68.47.144]] 20:26, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
:Hi yes I can. And I did: [[:Category:Back to the Future]]. I added yours. Here is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=50&offset=0&profile=default&search=%22Back+to+the+Future%22 a search string] that may help find more (for you to add). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:31, 1 November 2019 (UTC)

== Deletion of small categories? ==

Hi Kynde! I posted this on the community portal, but it seems unresponsive, and since none of the admins have edited recently, you seem like the person to ask.
I count eight categories on explainxkcd that satisfy the following properties: 1. They have only three comics in them. 2. They aren't really a comic series; they just feature or reference a comic theme. 3. They aren't Featuring some person or character. In short, they seem to have no real reason to exist. (They're [[:Category:Spice_Girls|t]][[:Category:Wind_turbine|h]] e[[:Category:Ender%27s_Game|s]]eo[[:Category:FernGully|n]][[:Category:Giraffes|e]]s.) In addition, there are [[:Category:Sketches|t]][[:Category:BSD|h]][[:Category:Emacs|i]][[:Category:Identity_Theft|r]][[:Category:Katamari_Damacy|t]][[:Category:Super_Bowl|e]][[:Category:The_Matrix|e]][[:Category:Tournament_bracket|n]][[:Category:Traffic_light| ]][[:Category:Trebuchet|m]][[:Category:Wingsuit|o]][[:Category:Euler_diagrams|r]][[:Category:Pedantic|e]] four-comic categories that also satisfy these requirements. I know non-admins can't delete articles, but because of these articles' status, should I remove their contents and add them to [[:Category:Pages to delete]]? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 01:17, 12 November 2019 (UTC)
:Since I'm no admin just the most active over an extended period of time, I cannot really say what to do. Some of the categories I think has merit, I may even have created some of them. And there may be reason to expect more to come. But others I tend to agree. I think Randall has something with Giraffes and the Spice Girl spurt with three in short notice I think merits the categories. The other 6 with three I would not mind if they went away. But then there may need to be some links between those comics. Are you willing to make those? If you do then empty the categories, and put them as up for deletion. Most of those with four I would keep. I have NOT clicked on them all though, just read them here when I edited this response. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:56, 12 November 2019 (UTC)

== Category for Bees ==

Hi Kynde,

Can you add a category on bees, as a subcategory of [[:Category:Animals]]? I've found [[1259: Bee Orchid]], [[1186: Bumblebees]], [[2231: the Time Before And After Land]], [[2035: Dark Matter Candidates]], [[1692: Man Page]], and there are probably more. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.38|172.69.34.38]] 00:22, 22 November 2019 (UTC)
:Done [[:Category:Bees]]. Added your five comics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:49, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

== New category - comics with store products ==

Hi Kynde, thanks for creating the new page for [[:Category:Comics with store products]]! (I was the one who added the comics to that category, but I didn't have permission to create a new page for the category itself, so I apologize for abandoning it like that.)

For the name of this category, I wanted to follow a similar pattern to existing category names such as "[[:Category:Comics from 2005]]" or "[[:Category:Comics with color]]". So for the name of this new category, I had considered some other more accurate names, such as "[[:Category:Comics upon which xkcd store products are based]]", or perhaps "[[:Category:Comics made into official merchandise]]"; but I felt that these new category names would be a bit too long, so I was trying to keep it more succinct than that. ...But now I realize that the current name I chose is not very clear, and might cause some confusion about what it's supposed to mean, so it was really a poor choice of words on my part. Do you have any ideas for a better name that we could use for this category? If so, please feel free to rename it, then I will go through all the comic pages where I added it, and update them to the new category.

On the other hand, in the edit-history of the [[:Category:Comics with store products]] page, I noticed in your comments that you felt it was maybe not a good idea for a category -- and I certainly understand that, so if you want to just remove this category completely, please feel free to do so, then I will go through and remove it from all the comics where I added it (so as not to leave any broken links behind).

Thanks for your help, and sorry for causing noob trouble!

- [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 09:57, 24 November 2019 (UTC)
:Hi Yfmcpxpj
:First of all, the comment on my creation of the page, was because I did not understand the category. Store products.. I thought it was like with products bought in a type of store... First when I clicked on a few and saw your (?) comments that a t-shirt was based on this comic, did I understand the category. Think I wrote that in my next edit, where I linked to the store. After realizing that, I though it was a great category, although adding xkcd would probably help the understand-ability: "Category: Comics with xkcd store products"
:What do you say to that title?
:Regarding my ability to make pages, that is just because I have edited enough to get that right (I know I have edited more than any one else here...) But I'm actually not an admin, and I cannot delete pages. Sadly it seems the admins have left xkcd without replacements... So not one answers admin requests, and although I'm glad to help when I can, I do not have that many rights on the page.
:But true you may have asked for someone to create the page and also maybe ask for the title before creating it. I think I will be able to rename the page though, so if you can go through all the comics and correct the category there I would like to give it a try. (Do not do this before I have changed the name!)
:What do you say? And should I add the xkcd as suggested above?
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:14, 24 November 2019 (UTC)

::Yes, I like your title better, "Comics with xkcd store products" -- I think it is much clearer. If you can rename the category, I will wait for that, then after it has been successfully renamed, I'll go through and update those comics to use the new one instead. And sorry to hear that the admins have been absent -- but it looks like you are doing a good job of keeping the site maintained, so thank-you for that! - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:58, 25 November 2019 (UTC)
:::I have now moved the category page. You can find the list of comics that now need to be moved [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Comics_with_store_products&redirect=no here].
:::And the new empty category here [[:Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:26, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

::::Thanks Kynde; I have moved the remaining comics into the new category. You mentioned that you don't have permissions to delete pages, so I wonder if the old page [[:Category:Comics with store products]] should be put into parent [[:Category:Pages to delete]] so maybe the admins will delete it? - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:15, 26 November 2019 (UTC)
:::::As the old Category redirects to the new one, I guess deletion is not necessary. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:31, 26 November 2019 (UTC)
::::::If no pages refers to the old category, and to avoid anyone putting comics in that category again, it would be nice to have it deleted. But I'm not sure anyone will do that at the moment. Davidy is long gone and DGBRT seems to be absent as well... I was once asked to be an admin but declined at the time ... Maybe that was a shame, but at least I still react when someone post on my page... But I'm not that active anymore, and have never looked much through the portal pages etc. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:49, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

== Banned from Conferences Category ==

Hi Kynde, you usually have a good feeling on how Categories should be described, etc. There was a (quite short) discussion on [[153: Cryptography]], to remove a portion of the explanation. Do you think that stuff belongs into [[:Category:Banned from conferences]]? Maybe you can chime into the "discussion" on 153. -- Regards [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:24, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

== Edit summaries ==
Please use {{w|Help:Edit_summary|edit summaries}}; they are especially important for pages like [[:xkcd Header text]] that are infrequently monitored but have a meta-importance. Thanks. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 21:22, 16 July 2020 (UTC)
:I have more or less created the entire page from scratch. So I will not begin writing details every time I make a revision. But I use it for most other edits. I can see you care for BLM... Great, you probably know much more on this than I do. I made this page, to keep track of the header text, which was not explained on these pages. Sometimes it is relevant for a given comic, so great to have this place to write about it, and then link to it from the comics. The unfilled link was to help people wo may help editing this page, fill in when the header changed. I will do that now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:37, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
::Kynde: I don't understand how your authorship of the page (from scratch or otherwise) has anything to do with whether you should be writing details of when you make a revision. But for sensitive topics, which BLM is, it is especially important for other editors to be able to carefully review changes. And when you make a large block of changes, like you did there on July 1, with 8 different edits, edit summaries are an extremely helpful tool for everyone else. So, again, the request is to please use an edit summary, ''especially'' when you are making multiple edits in a row, and ''especially'' on pages of meta-importance like [[:xkcd Header text]]. Of course, this is not Wikipedia, the rules here (such as they are) are relatively weak, and we all should coöperate. But if your answer is "I don't have to because I wrote the page first, years ago!" that doesn't make any sense at all. If your goal was to make sense, then I don't know how to respond. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 17:50, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
:::Well I shall try to be more careful around sensitive subjects. You are one of the first other than me to have edited the page. And one of the few that have added a new section. I just changed it into the same format that I have used on all the others. And did a revision now, and sorry I forgot to write what it was out of bad habit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:57, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
::::I think the change you just made was…not great. See [[:Talk:xkcd_Header_text#Recent_BLM_edits]] where I give my opinion. But it is probably better discussed there than on your personal page, but I wanted to highlight it for you. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 18:04, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
:::::I have replied on the other talk page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:28, 21 July 2020 (UTC)

== Nationality ==

What country are you from? [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 12:34, 14 July 2021 (UTC)
:Denmark. Why? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:15, 15 July 2021 (UTC)

== Forgive this IP ==
I just made a handful of edits to recent changes that you had made (may not have been what you changed, in all cases; it might have just been pre-existing errors and Recent Changes just drew me to them). I hope it doesn't look personal, especially from an impersonal IP that you can't easily talk back to. So I'm mentioning it here to try to apologise if it does seem that way. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.85|162.158.159.85]] 18:57, 28 December 2021 (UTC)
:Hi. Thanks for telling. Since your IP will change I cannot see exactly which changes you made, but cheeked on my last changes and saw some CE and minor changes. Only thing I disagreed with (not sure it was you) was that the Launch comic should not have been released on the 24th. Which it was in most of the US if not all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:01, 29 December 2021 (UTC)
::(Most of the changes occured under roughly the 172.70.… range, as I recall, though you can see the above switched to a whole different class-B - entirely due to the internediary's whim (Cloudflare?) without my changing anything. I'm sitting on a different connection now, so all bets are off what ''this'' will appear as. ;) )
::I have no argument with Randall posting on the 24th (his time) as the Bot got there soon enough to prove it. But of course the rest of us (mostly Europe and beyond) had a different experience. Still before the launch (whoever checked for themselves in time), which I think a couple of my edits were about. Really not huge issues, just minor fixes. You're good with those things, I know from experience, just a courtesy note (that and this). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 22:42, 29 December 2021 (UTC)
:::Maybe not you who posted. But as you can see your IP is not the same in these two posts, so I can only assume you are the same person, but cannot guess which of my edits you have changed and which someone else changed ;-) Do you have a name other than 162.158.159.85 or 172.70.86.22 ;-) Why not get an account? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:29, 30 December 2021 (UTC)
::::I just can't think of a decent username. I tend to use different ones everwhere (and never my RL identity) and most of them were 'good ideas at the time' but when the inevitable "Why is your username what it is?" thread comes around it always seems my 'explanation' is laughable. All the above in this section (that isn't you) is me, BTW. Just added an indent layer I missed. I'm happy being (slightly unpredictably) changing IP, because I seek no credit (or blame!) for my 'insights' and my ego survives well enough on such fleeting moments of anonymous fame, I assure you. ;) And I don't mind when other IP-editors 'land' on/near what I just used, either, even if they're now completely wrong.
::::Not that I think Usernames are a bad thing in general for you and others (c.f. 4chan 'anon' culture...), I'm just happy that it's one less thing to worry about in my own case! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 15:04, 30 December 2021 (UTC)
:::::Well that is up to you. But then again it is hard to forgive an IP when I'm not sure what it has done or not. But as I could just see there where nothing needing forgiveness so we are good. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 3 January 2022 (UTC)

== Do you get a healthy amount of sleep? ==
In recent days I see you editing very often and I just wanna make sure you get enough sleep because while you're doing amazing work, I am a bit concerned [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk]]) 08:45, 6 January 2022 (UTC)
:Ha ha - thanks for both the concern and the praise. I'm from Denmark so if you look at the time stamp and think I should be sleeping, then maybe it is in the middle of the day here. I write this just before 10:00 AM here in DK. But actually I'm doing very little now compared to maybe five years ago. If you look at the [[Special:ContributionScores|ContributionScores]] at the bottom with the All time (Top 50), you will see that I'm number two. And if you look at number of changes I'm far ahead of number 2... So this is actually quite low level activity for me... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:53, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

==[[Countdown in header text]] image ==
You mentioned you'd help uploading the countdown wiggle gif, so [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown here]'s a link to all the image stuff of the countdown. (Specifically, [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/full_animation.gif full_animation.gif] and [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/Countdown%20in%20header%20text%20Wiggling.gif Countdown in header text Wiggling.gif]).
Optionally [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown.zip zipped], for easier archival. [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 20:03, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
:Great thanks Toby. Will try to make it work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
::It worked and I have replied on your new talk page and created your own page, in case you still could not. Feel free to change that now. Very happy with your work, both of the files. Thanks!!! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:28, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

== Purely to improve your knowledge of English ==

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spacecrafts#English

i.e., as with vehicular "craft" in general (including aircraft, hovercraft, etc), the -s pluralisation is allowable but not considered standard. An oddity of the terminology that I don't actually know the reason for. I'm wondering could it be from our nautical heritage where singular craft were the rarity (a simpler version of how [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aderyn sometimes the singular can be considered rarer than the plural]? Yet ships/vessels/etc don't succumb to that usage. Even if sheep and fish do! Anyway, while spacecraft are preferred, spaceships are indeed the synonymous alternative. IYSWIM...

Crafts, as in skillfully created works, ''are'' the plurals exactly as you'd initially expect. Woodcrafts, metalcrafts, etc. So I suppose those people who are shipcrafters might therefore craft many crafted craft, thanks to the various crafts they know, and then exhibit their crafts at a craft-fair. ((i.e "Boatwrights might construct many well-made (model?) ships, thanks to their skills, then show their creations at an exhibition of bespoke manufacturing.")) Crafty, eh?

Sorry, I seem to have gone overboard with the explanation. Throw me that lifebelt, please? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 10:40, 10 February 2022 (UTC)
:Hi. Thanks. I'm not sure it will help, I'm not very good at spelling, even in my own language. But maybe I will remember this. I do not mind other people copy editing my posts. My idea is that if I write something useful other will make it better, and correct the errors. But if I do not write it, then it may be left out of an explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:54, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

== THANK YOU!!! ==
Kynde - I have only just discovered this beautiful Explain XKCD wiki and am in awe - I saw that you have been a huge contribuotr for years and just wanted to say Thank You to you and team for this beautiful legacy of work! With it XKCD can be that much more of a portal into all the different directions Randall’s comics touch on and drift near.

I’ve been behind the scenes in wikipedia for years (so often painful) and love connecting with anyone else who is doing meaningful wiki work. I’m just stopping by here today on my way to *important deadlines* but intend to be back. Just set up my Explain editor account. Pop me a talk page note? Happy to plug in! [[User:DrMel|DrMel]] ([[User talk:DrMel|talk]]) 19:53, 20 March 2022 (UTC)

(Ps looks like I am not getting through the email validation steps - no email confirmation has yet made it to my email. I’ll check back later. On wikipedia I’m https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DrMel

(pps - email validated! But i still dont have permission to setup my user page… so this time i really am going back to the Save-The-World work i am supposed to be doing!)
:Hi [[User:DrMel|DrMel]]. Wow, thanks a lot. Yes I have been very active on this page. I'm not one of the admins though, and sadly it seems this page is without any active admins, and that it has been so for a while. I guess I'm the best option right now. I have created your user page and talk page, so now you can work on the user page. Welcome to explain xkcd. If you have any questions regarding format or other things feel free to ask. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

== Nomination ==
I know you maybe don't want it, but see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination#New_admins]] '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:08, 8 May 2022 (UTC)
:I have answered there and accepted the nomination. It is an honor. Hope I can live up to it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:16, 10 May 2022 (UTC)
::Finally got the promotion from Jeff. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:30, 23 May 2022 (UTC)

== Block User:Donald Trump ==

Can you block [[User:Donald Trump]]? He is another spambot, like the others recently: [[Special:Contributions/Donald_Trump]]. Thanks, [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 17:48, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:Done--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

== you blocked a mobile phone (T-mobile) IP ==

You blocked “162.158.107.124”. The problem is, that’s a T-mobile IP that goes to whomever happens to get it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 19:11, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:Yes Im new to being administrator so sorry I messed that up. But think I [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Contributions/162.158.107.124 managed to undo it]? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:33, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

== Regarding your latest IP block ==

See [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:While_False&oldid=286101#Concision_and_clarity my note on this latest thing] that it seems like you were reacting to.
 In general, I don't think IP-blocking is very useful (false-positives get hit and false-negatives get round it, depending upon the vagueries of everything, and as an IP myself this is close to the bone for me) but there's potentially something going on. I don't know if you get to see what ''doesn't'' happen because of a block, though. Tricky one to get your head round. But thought I'd clue you in on what I'm thinking. Completely your decision on how you take it.
 Keep up the good work, BTW! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 12:59, 3 June 2022 (UTC)
:Just to add that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=957:_Development&curid=4423&diff=286104&oldid=283524 this change] follows the trend I mentioned (type of edit + history of its apparent IP), and now undone. Not to overly pester you with this (better the Community Portal for that), just FYI. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.11|141.101.98.11]] 17:05, 3 June 2022 (UTC)
::I only block them for a week or 3 days, just to stop current spam, and thanks for the praise --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:02, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

== Sparing use of Talk-page section headers ==

Note that I added a ;-title (not an individually editable section's title), albeit first mis-tapping in the :-indenter instead by accident, but maybe you were a bit overzealous squishing out the ==editable== section-headers (the existing one and my own once someone had helpfully 'upgraded' it) in the latest discussion.

The advice given on the main-page, as part of the discussion-inclusion templating, is that new sections should be used ''sparingly'', not that they are not to be used. If anything, I was wrong to use a ;-title (to logically separate my contribution from the headered bit I was following), perhaps I should have inserted as a normal running comment above the newly broken-out section.

Not complaining, but just positing the view that it seemed a bit draconic of an intervention. Livable-with, having been done, but not sure it was strictly necessary.

(Would be handy to add across the "Add to the bottom (etc)" HTML-comment to the top of the page, from a BOT-created new-discussion-page, though I suppose I could do that. Maybe I will. Yes, I think I will. You could also maybe check the circumstances why a normal user had needed to do theusafBOT's work for it... I'm sure it's more that theusaf's script is just temporarily offline, or slow to react, rather than having gone the way of dgbrtBOT/whatever...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 13:49, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
:I think there is now use for headings in comment section. And in some cases the explanations have a TOC and then the headings of the talk page would come into this because we include talk page on the explanation page. Also it becomes confusing when others add different comments below, as they then seems to belong to the headered section. Thus best leave them out, unless something very special. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:55, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

== Table of tips? ==
Why put the table in a section on [[2649]]? It breaks the convention of discussing the comic before discussing the title text. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.145|172.70.210.145]] 07:11, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
:No this has been done whenever there is a table. The comic should be explained first, but if lots of info needs to be added in order to understand the full details of the comic, then the title text is usually explained after the first short explanation. And then the larger explanation is delegated to a sub section, just as I have done here. It is because you may not wish to dwell into all these details, they are not needed to understand the overall joke, but you might like to see the title text explained, and then this should not be hidden deep down. Also there is a link from the explanation to the table, so you can easily go there to read the main explanation for each tip.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:32, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
::Well it's no big deal; I don't have strong feelings about it, but I haven't been here very long, and noticed that [[2636]], [[2638]], and [[2639]] all have tables following the sequence of the comics instead of in a section at the end. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 08:39, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
:::Yes that must also be said to be new comics, and not those that have been here long time ;-) All of them came out after my holiday began this summer, and I have not had time to go through those comics yet. But thanks I will fix it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:21, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
::::Fixed those three and also completed two of the transcripts. Thanks for pointing the discrepancy out. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:02, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

How do you feel about [[2606]]? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.173|172.71.150.173]] 08:32, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
:Since the title text is just another symbol, it seems fine to have it in the table. But actually there may be a reason to explain that joke as well in the main explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:35, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
::But after updating the explanation I ended up moving the table to a section and moving any other explanation above. Including a mention of the title text. Is this the same person that started this thread that asked about 2606? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:56, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
:::No, I'm [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=291019&oldid=282989 this guy.] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 15:52, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
::::Hello, That Guy. (BTW, I'm also none of the above conversationalists, Kynde...) That change you linked... I just reverted it. It was fixed (devandalised) already in a state that was after the removal of the Incomplete tag and I couldn't work out ''why'' you considered it needing reverting. Yes, a lot of restored stuff (now unrestored), but I couldn't quite work out which (pre-vandalism) version you even reverted to, and surely there were various useful culling edits ("no, we don't need to say that, it's irrelevent", etc) that you were negating.
::::Or at least that was my almost knee-jerk response (almost, because I went back through the crapcrapcrap stuff and beyond trying to find where you were coming from, so I spent some time on thinking about it before I did it).
::::I offer it up to review by the wider community, or back to yourself (or give Kynde a shot, if they aren't busy). Maybe some old bits could be reintegrated, but I couldn't see which on a semi-cursory glance. So, given you have provided a handle on you, expanding upon the woefully short edit-summary space, to more fully explain any confusion (of mine, or yours, or just in general). Ok? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 16:43, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:::::Are you saying you removed vandalism with the revert? Which parts do you think are crap stuff? Do you not see how it is all directly related to the drawing on the board? I should have removed the incomplete tag, but I think I'll try the appended section idea to appease objectors with a compromise. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.185|172.69.33.185]] 05:15, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
::::::I don't think this has anything to do with my comment, and I do not have any thing to add to this discussion. If this is all about [[2207:_Math_Work]], then please take any further [[Talk:2207:_Math_Work#Deletions|discussion there]], as to not disturb me with e-mails every time you change my user talk page ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:07, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

== A spammer has appeared! ==

Hi! It seems that there's a spammer who's been consistently adding an incredibly odd rant to the front page from a wide variety of IP addresses over the course of yesterday and today. They currently show no signs of stopping; could you use whatever Special Admin Powers you may have to resolve the issue? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 18:37, 30 July 2022 (UTC)

User talk:Kynde

2022-07-30T18:37:49Z

Account: /* A spammer has appeared! */ new section

== Cueball references ==
Hi, please do not remove the Cueball references here. He is a standard character. The category [[:Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] gives just an overview about all comics showing this stick figure. And just one is him, not defined by Randall but by us. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:10, 8 May 2014 (UTC)
:But who should define who Cueball is? You? I could see him as both here. And somebody did. You have just corrected back so that the Cueball in the explain is switched to the other charachter in the transcript. At least one of these should then be changed to match the other. It is thus also clear that people have different views of what Cueball stands for. Is he the one trolling, or is he the one who knows which movie Blade Runner is? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:35, 10 May 2014 (UTC)
:By the way - I did not remove the reference to the chategory - but only in the text as described above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 10 May 2014 (UTC)

== Minor tags on edits ==
Also, a minor concern, but please be more sparing in your use of "minor" tags on edits. Addition of 1200 characters (e.g. . . m Talk:1496: Art Project‎; 20:04 . . (+1,240)‎ . . ‎Kynde, or . . m 1497: New Products‎; 19:12 . . (-419)‎ . . ‎Kynde →‎Explanation: It does not fit into category four! See new test. I also deleted a lot of text, that already was written below, and was basically the same as the one stille) is NOT minor. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:22, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
::When adding a new comment to the talk page I newer see this as a major change. This i a discussion not a change to the explanation!. I do not believe it was a big change removing the text you wrote, when all of it basically was written below. Try and read your version, and see that it was more or less double. Also I had already once removed the reference to the fourth category. If the guy has signed up he have no problems with this company. Also it is mentioned that the fourth category is not a company he is afraid off, but just someone they do not like. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

== Thank you ==

I like what you did at [[1402: Harpoons]]. Thank you. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]]
:You're welcome - I did it based on your comment [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 03:41, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

==[[980: Money]]==
Hey, you've done an amazing job on the money comic's transcript, but the explanation page is still marked as incomplete. Is there actually anything left to be done on it? Thanks! [[User:Davak72|Davak72]] ([[User talk:Davak72|talk]]) 03:04, 3 April 2015 (UTC)
:Thanks allot. I have replied on the Money page where you repeated the above. I can even remember the number although it was some time since I did the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:44, 3 April 2015 (UTC)

== Merge Cueball & Rob ==

You seem to have changed some comics in which formerly more than one cueball appeared to make it such that none were called cueball (e.g. Orb Hammer). But many persist, see transcripts in:
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1405:_Meteor
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/192:_Working_for_Google
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/187:_The_Familiar
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/79:_Iambic_Pentameter
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/65:_Banter

We should probably seek broader consensus before rewriting all these transcripts. There seems to me to be a general trend to name one "Cueball" and call the others "Friend" or somesuch in these cases and I'm concerned that you seem to want to singlehandedly rewrite all that convention. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:07, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:It is typically the first who writes the transcript who decides who of the Cueballs (or Megans) he feel represents the real Cueball. However, there is no real behavior of Cueball. So who should decide. I could also change these transcripts so it becomes the other character who becomes Cueball, because I think the first transcripter did it wrong. This was exactly what happened with the two Megan-like comics. First it was Megan and Danish. Then unidentified girl and Megan. Then Megan and unidentified girl, then two Megan like girls with short and long hair and finally you reverted it to my first ide: Unidentified girl and Megan. So thanks for showing me these six double Cueball comics. I will change asap. And as I answered your comment on [[1496: Art Project]] Rob is already listed as part of the category for Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Rob and this is listed as the first entry when going to the page for Category:Comics featuring Cueball: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Cueball Thus he should not be merged--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:21, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:: Can you please add this discussion here [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob]. I have refrained from making these sort of substantial changes and want to seek a broader consensus. Please use the community forum to seek such consensus before making major unilateral changes like that. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:24, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:::Done with interests --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:02, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:: there are dozens of multiple-Cueball comments. Please don't change them to "man 1", "man 2" until we can reach a braoder consensus. I will not be changing them to "Rob" without consensus. This is not something to be done all at once and making that many changes will prompt me to request that an admin freeze your account. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:27, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:::I was about to write this before your comment no. two. So this was a reply to your previous comment: "I can post it there, but these changes has been underway a long time for almost a year. But it is hard to find these comics as I do not go through them just to find incidences. How long have you been active in xkcd. I can see your page has been created today, but maybe you were active long before that?"--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
::::This is a comment to your next comment: "It is very hard to threaten someone like that already. I have been making these changes before, and by the way never to man 1 or man 2. I have been one of the top contributers for more than a year. I hope this is not just because I reverted one of your contributions to Mondays comic? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]21:42, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:::::I didn't want to threaten. I think consistent style is important, and general style I see is in multi-Cueball comics, one is ID'd as Cueball and others are "Friend", etc. Anyone unilaterally changing an established style should seek consensus first.
:::::Additionally, I think your undo on my edit actually improved the explanation.
:::::Finally, if you know how to solicit more opinions on the matter at hand, please let me know (or do it). Thanks! [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 23:53, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
::::::Thanks on the edit appraisal. As I wrote on the talk page, yours was also much better phrased the second time. I do not know how to get anyone to go read your comment except by giving them the message like you did with me. Or putting a link to it from the talk page of the double Megan comic, and maybe on some of the double Cueball comics too. I did not understand the "solicit more opinions" at first (why I wrote that last part in my comment below "how many will read"). So you do realize, I can see now, that not many will. By the way I'm [[Danish]]... That is, I'm neither a mean girl or a pastry cake, but from Denmark. And although I'm, really good at English for everyday use, it is not by far a language I can understand everything. But suddenly I got your message.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 12 March 2015 (UTC)
My only point is we need to wait until consensus is reached before undoing years of precedent in Cueball naming. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 22:38, 11 March 2015 (UTC)
:Well as I have made fairly clear there is no consensus. Because it is up to the first one who writes the transcript to decide who is the friend. And this often leads to discussion or changes forth and back (like we just saw with two Megans) since people have different opinion on how Cueball should behave, since they do not know that Cueball can behave anyway Randall needs him to. Often he reflects Randall's intelligence, but just as often he is a prick behaving horribly towards girls etc. So if there are two, one good and one bad, you cannot say the good one is Cueball. And how many do you think reads your post? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:43, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

I have had a look at the comics you have listed. Here are my comments:
*[[1405:_Meteor]]
**Here I would have changed - since it is believed that Cueball often represents Randall's version of himself - especially when it is his hobby. Of course it is then Randall who is pedantic, and thus Cueball. So I would change the Cueball reference. So here we could have a stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.
*[[525:_I_Know_You%27re_Listening]]
**Here there is only one Cueball speaking. And the other is listening in. So here I would no object so much. Maybe I would mention that the other looks like Cueball.
*[[192:_Working_for_Google]]
**Here I would have changed - since I would think that Cueball should have the most interesting story, and also that this Cueball is Randall as it is known that Randall has an interest in Google and has also been cheated by their aptitude test (so much that he did the famous [[356: Nerd Sniping]]). So also here I would change the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.
*[[187:_The_Familiar]]
**Here I would have changed - since I would thing that Cueball should be the one always interested in computers. Not the other way. I know there are other comics where he enjoys nature. But Also a lot where he enjoys computers out of hand and math etc. So again I would have changed the Cueball reference. So again stupid editing war, instead of writing something else.
*[[79:_Iambic_Pentameter]]
**Here I agree with the Cueball = Randall - it's Randall my hobby and thus the one with the Hobby is Cueball. But I would still prefer they are not named. some might argue against me on the hobby, saying the Cueball with the hobby is "Randall" so the other Cueball is "Cueball". Thus once more editing war. But I would not start it. But still probably mention that the Cueball with a hobby is Randall.
*[[65:_Banter]]
**What can I say. The first is called Cueball the other is not. They have the same amount of text, and they are obviously both gay and missing out. I would definitely loose the Cueball reference here.
That is my ten cents about these six examples. Maybe we should create a category called multiple Cueballs. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)
:Note that I have not changed any of these... yet. But maybe I should revert those three I think is plain wrong, so the Cueball and friend is changed. Then we can see if anyone changes back? ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

:::I advise waiting. If you want to enact 4, go for it, but then put in the discussion a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob link] to our discussion for '''all''' the changes you make so hopefully someone besides you and me goes to that page and weighs in.

To answer your question, I've read xkcd for years (I started reading regularly around the time there were ~500 total comics), lurked on explainxkcd and made anonymous minor edits for most of that time. I set up an account in July 2013, when I began making more regular edits.

I recognize that the issue has a large amount of inertia. My point is precisely that there are 9 "Rob" comics and countless Cueball. But, as I stated on the page, there is ample evidence that the same character (Black Hat's friend/roommate, Megan's boyfriend) '''is''' named Rob. I haven't done a count, but I suspect that "Megan" is named in the comic fewer than 9 times, but characters of her appearance are '''all''' called "Megan".

Yes, multiple Megans triggered the idea that's been brewing in my mind since someone (not me) made an anonymous comment on a relatively recent Rob comic [1168: tar]. Since I read that it's been sitting in my mind, but I haven't wanted to make an issue. However, the asymmetry between Megan/Cutie and Rob/Cueball grates for me and I want to urge the community here to evaluate critically whether it is the right thing or an inappropriate historical artifact. Years ago, [Cutie] was abolished (redirects now to [Megan]), I think it's objectively appropriate to make a symmetrical arrangement for Rob/Cueball (hence my options 2 & 3 in the public discussion thread).

For now, if you want to go changing all those comics go ahead. I won't argue or revert, but I request that you put the following (or something close to it) in the discussion of all the comics you change "I've removed the name 'Cueball' from this and several other comics that have multiple Cueball's in them as per my position on the issue currently under discussion at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob if you support this change or disagree with it, please weigh in on that discussion thread."

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from more users. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 00:04, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

::::Dear Djbrasier
:(By the way my name is Kynde - that is both my nick and my middle name).
:Thanks for this very open talk. I like you much better now ;-)
:If I do change any of these I will do as you ask. It is not like I have forever to do these changes, although I for sure use too much time already on explain... I think I will add the category:Comics with multiple Cueballs. What do you think of the name if I do (and if I do then maybe also make one with Category:Comics where Megan is named Megan. Please tell me you can think of a better name for that one ;-) I only know of the three now mentioned on [[Megan]]s page.
:As you can see om my page, I have only used explain xkcd since late 2013. So you have been member longer than me by some months. I did not read xkcd before that - became fascinated with the What if section on xkcd and when I finished with those I turned to the comic. But found that I failed to understand quite a few, and thus searched and found this page. I have read them as they come out since then, and then also began reading from no. 1. But since I always look in this page for the explanation and like to contribute I only progress very slowly. Recently I have reached [[540: Base System]] where I have made several improvements additions and corrections. And that is as far as I have reached reading straight fro no. 1. But I have of course used the cross referencing and thus read many in between that and those from October 2013.
:Regards Kynde --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:02, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

::Happy to have the discussion and to get to wiki-know you. I definitely see your points. I added a few comments and links to our public discussion in the hopes that, over time, it will attract more users to the community portal discussion. I suspect it will take some months for enough users to weigh in that we have a reasonable consensus. I think that if you remove "Cueball" from some of the comics you mentioned above and put a link to the portal page in the discussion block of those comments, that will prompt community input.
::Cheers,
::DJ [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:40, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

I also added incomplete tags to a few comics in which I think a strong argument can be made that "Cueball" is really Rob, despite his name not showing up (Boombox & Cover-up) [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 13:49, 13 March 2015 (UTC)
:Well I disagree again. See the talk pages. But then it is out for discussion.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:19, 15 March 2015 (UTC)

I have changed several of the Multiple Cueballs comics as you said was OK with you. See the new caregory. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:41, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

== xkcloud permalink usernames ==

You said "The user name and user picture stay the same though.", [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1506:_xkcloud&diff=prev&oldid=88207 An Anon] had mentioned that [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024 3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024] had the name "Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit" and changed to "Margaret5", then by the time I looked at it, it had "Virginia2006". It still has "Virginia2006" now, but since it has changed twice I wouldn't assume it is now permanent. Due to this, I [[1506:_xkcloud/Table of Permalinks|haven't been saving the usernames]]. Could you confirm that you see Virginia2006? Perhaps it's different for each user. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:09, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
:Yes I did see Virginia2006. I think it may change some times, but then suddenly it could become stable? The permalink used on the main page of the explain, was mine. I noted it was Mark Zuckerberg. But this has changed. But now I think it is stuck on: Destiny1983 and always with the skating "Megan". Can you confirm this: http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/50b47c70-3a7c-504d-bcc0-60597338e999 . Cool that you have collected all these images. Can we put the link under the permalink section. As you can see I'm trying to completely revise the page so it is easier to find the explain and then only see the detail if you are interested. Hope you like these changes --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
::Yeah, I see Destiny1983 on that one too. I like the changes, they make everything much clearer. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 21:30, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Thanks. I was trying to make it easier to write some extra info on your permalink page, and deleted most of them. Luckily they are not deleted permanently. But the page is so big I have trouble loading it. I try to repair my mistake, but else please do so for me, and sorry in advance. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:45, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

::::NP, <tt>&action=history</tt> is a life-saver. I was going to suggest using <tt>&action=edit&section=0</tt>, but I see you've already added a description heading. It also lags pretty badly for me so I expect I'll have to stop at 10000, and I'm already up to 8444 since my last edit to the page. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 22:20, 6 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::Yes I think I fixed it but I had to split it in three uploads. How many different pictures do you think there are. I guess some off them are the same? (And same for text). Maybe the last part can be seen by sorting the table. But does the image also have the same name when used more than once? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:33, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

::::::Well, I know of 1419 unique images so far. Yes, both images and text are reused for different permalinks, some come up a lot more frequently than others. If you click the heading, you can sort by either image or text, which will group them together. It's kind of interesting to see different captions for the same image. If you mean the same username, I haven't checked. I also haven't checked whether the same pair of image and text ever appear together as different permalinks, I'll check that <s>eventually</s>, <s>later</s>, ''right now''... nope. I imagine the prompt never even ''suggests'' a caption which is already associated with an image. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 23:27, 6 April 2015 (UTC)

::::::I hit the 2mb page limit at 10217 permalinks, out of the 15000+ I have found, so I've reduced the table to only show each image and text once. As in, ''either'' the image or text once, so there will be a couple of duplicate images and text. So what I said previously about sorting to see different captions for the same image no longer applies, but the page will be more manageable this way. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 13:53, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

::::::: So you think that it will not be possible for anyone to add the same image to the same caption, because this caption will never again come up with this image or the other way around? I can see yo have removed the ? where they where something else like turtles... Nice. What about all the links below? Are they just the other 10.000 links not associated with a new image or caption, just a different combination? If so maybe this should be made clear. You could make a new section heading for them. Would it be possible to list them in any other way, or is this to save space? Alternatively you could make a new subpage with extra permalinks for further study. We of course both know that no one will ever read these again ;-) But nice work anyway. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:17, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

:::::::: So far, I've never found the same image and same caption, but I'll keep checking, as I'm still storing all of the information, just not posting the full list to the wiki now. The other links at the bottom are all 15000+ permalinks I've found, good point about making that more clear. It might also be a good idea to list them on another separate page to save space, but they're not for further study, as I have all the images and captions associated with them, there just isn't room to display all of the information, because it would currently take 3mb+. Regarding the symbols, I was previously pasting my javascript output into my text editor to format them, but now I have my script format them for me, so the symbols are preserved. - and it's also a lot easier for me. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 14:29, 7 April 2015 (UTC)

:::::::: Well, I've hit the 2 megabyte limit again, so it looks like we'll have to put the table on one page and the list of links on another. Any suggestions for the page titles? -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 15:25, 23 April 2015 (UTC)
::::::::: You are crazy :-) My suggestion is that you create a new page called Table of Permalink (with the explanation at the top the same, but now linking to the old page, and vice versa for the old page to the new). Then let the list of permalink stay on the old page. And move the table to the new page. Finally, look at what pages direct to the old page, and redirect them to the new, only leaving link to the old page from the new one. The table is most important. The problem with your table is that it is too big for anyone to load... Maybe there should even be another page in between. Which is called - a selection of permalink. And then with link to the full table and links, with a fair warning about huge amount of data (Big data.). My explorer just went down trying to load the page (or maybe I'm just too impatient?) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 24 April 2015 (UTC) (Ah, now it is finished loading...)
:::::::::: Thanks. I haven't tried it in internet explorer, but the table loads okay with Chrome on my laptop I bought 7 years ago. Now that the pages are split, it might load faster for you. -[[User:452|452]] ([[User talk:452|talk]]) 18:58, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

==[[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript|Hoverboard Transcript]]==

Sorry to ask about such a minor thing, just curious about why the man on the raised plateau can't be a woman. Elsewhere in the comic Darth Vader is seen explaining Steven Universe to someone. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.43|108.162.221.43]] 13:46, 3 December 2015 (UTC)
:Hi - it cold be. But to me it looks like a family. But to be honest I had not expected anyone to change it, and did not notice before I had copy pasted some text in from the document I write the transcript in. But hopefully at some time this family (or whatever) becomes part of the effort to explain the entire comic. My guess is that someone will know who it is - that they are from some TV series or movie. In that case it will become clear if it is (as I assumed) a family with mom and dad and two children or if it is a lesbian couple or something entirely different... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:02, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

::The family resembles the main characters of Steven Universe, a cartoon(the characters being three women and a child) The explanation page also lists them as such(Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.64|173.245.55.64]] 21:03, 3 December 2015 (UTC)
:::Perfect thanks. Then is makes sense with the Vader reference. Is it the boy who is Steven? And is the low girl also a grown woman? I will look it up but thanks for answering. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:07, 3 December 2015 (UTC)
::::Fixed the transcript. Some of the link I put in, is not supposed to be there, but may be moved once they are explained in the main article.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:20, 3 December 2015 (UTC)

== Hair Bun "Girl" ==

Hi Kynde, I noticed you created the character page for "Hair Bun Girl". This naming convention is inconsistent with most of the other characters named here, e.g. Cueball, Ponytail, Hairy, et al. Beret Guy is a potential counterexample, but the words "guy" and "man" don't have the same relationship as "girl" and "woman". Partly for consistency, and partly for simple feminism, I'd like to open a conversation about changing the character's name please. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:08, 4 February 2016 (UTC)
:I think it is exactly the same as guy vs. girl. Hair Bun Woman is just too cumbersome. But if you can find a name like Ponytail that fits then by all means. Hairbun just doesn't do it for me. But I do not have any specific feelings for this name, I just found that she was used too often to not have a character page. So I will not take offence against you trying to find a better name through a conversation. Contraty to for instance Megan, which once was Cuetie (sexistick I think), it will not be so hard to change Hair Bun Girl's name to something else, but still she has just reached comic no. 20 so it is not easy to find all the references. Are you ready to do that job if you do get a new name for her? Because else it is just semantics --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:20, 4 February 2016 (UTC)
::Thanks, appreciate it. Yes I am ready to do the job. What would you recommend for next steps? Should I raise the issue at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination? [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:06, 7 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Your welcome, and good luck. Try to see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob|this post]] regarding the naming convention of [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] which much to my joy did not end up in altering anything, but they were "old" names, Hair Bun Girl is new. You could post you suggestion there. And maybe make a note at the top of [[Hair Bun Girl]]'s page? (You can write Notice as a template just like the incomplete. Check out this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cueball&oldid=92611 old version of Cueball page history]). Now that I think about it '''Hairbun''' is probably as good a name as [[Ponytail]]. So I would think that would be a decent proposal for a change. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:08, 7 February 2016 (UTC)
::::Okay, process started. Thank you for the good wishes and guidance. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 04:31, 9 February 2016 (UTC)

=== Girl With Hairbun? ===

I have identified several comics that have a girl (clearly a child) similar in appearance to Hairbun.
Examples include [[1104: Feathers]], [[1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing]] and [[1370: President]]. Would these people be included under Hairbun? Most of them are not marked as such. And what are the requirments to make a new character? I think this girl has appeared rather often. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.42}}
:Hi. If you look at the description for [[Hairbun]] it clearly states that she is an adult as are Ponytail and Cueball etc. So no, these examples should not be included in Hairbun category. If you look at the last entry on the talk page of President I suggested a children category. But I would agree that a category with curious girl or science girl could be relevant. She is also in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] for instance. If there are about five comics that could go in a new category it is just to create it. The naming is important though. See othere categories for what to write on the category page. I have made several including Hairbun --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:12, 27 May 2016 (UTC)
::Thanks for your input. I think I will be creating this category soon. Since most of the names seem to refer to the hairstyles (they are recognizable) I think I'll be going with the name "Double Bun Girl".

== Marking edits as minor edits ==
Hey, I noticed that you mark lot of your edits as minor edits while most of them aren't. For example, [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645%3A_Toasts&diff=112997&oldid=112996 this]] and probably [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113008 this]] too constitute as a minor edit, but these - [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=112997 [1]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113003 [2]]], [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1645:_Toasts&diff=next&oldid=113009 [3]]], etc. aren't minor edits. Refer to the wikipedia guidelines for minor edits - {{w|Help:Minor_edit}}.
::Examples include typographical corrections, formatting and presentational changes, and rearrangements of text without modification of its content. A minor edit is one that the editor believes requires no review and could never be the subject of a dispute.
Basically, if you are adding/removing even a little bit of content, it is not minor. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:31, 21 February 2016 (UTC)

Oh, and how in the world is [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Thing_Explainer&curid=16286&diff=113034&oldid=113033 this ]] and [[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1608:_Hoverboard&curid=16986&diff=113019&oldid=113013 this ]] minor !! [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 23:47, 21 February 2016 (UTC)
:Sorry about that. I just updated my settings where it had been set to default: "Mark all edits minor by default". If I by mistake click OK to an update before clicking that off it was to late. But now it will be the other way instead. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:19, 22 February 2016 (UTC)
::Cool, no worries. It happens. I was just surprised that everything was marked minor. Anyway, keep up the good work. I see that you're finishing up all the incomplete explanations and improving comics in general. Great work ! :) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 01:04, 23 February 2016 (UTC)
:::Thanks for the support, nice to get some feedback. Also great that someone mentions when you are doing something the wrong way. I had only limited experience with wiki pages before signing up here, and I had not read the wiki page on minor edits, but now I have. How come you have chosen not to have an account? Seems like you also make several comments and changes... which is great ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:11, 23 February 2016 (UTC)

== Please create the discussion page for today's comic. ==
Thanks. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 15:02, 7 March 2016 (UTC)
:Well just did that (for [[1652: Conditionals]]) but not because I saw this comment, just before. I guess it is not possible for no registered users to create pages? Well I fulfilled your wish before I knew about it ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:05, 7 March 2016 (UTC)

== Moving comments around ==
Please do not move people's comments into unrelated discussions without asking them, and if you do, make sure the timestamps in the reply chain aren't out of order. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 20:36, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:I expect you were referring to [[Talk:1659: Tire Swing]]? Well all comments I moved were regarding the same question of who the girls looked like, and they should have been posted as replies to the first. There were no time stamp on the first comment and your post asking if they were children were posted straight under a post about if they were Megan and Hair Bun girl or Thelma and Louise. So I do believe your comment belong under that statement. But fine by my that it just stand beneath instead of being indented. The time stamp of all comments seem to be in time order as I see it. It would get really confusing or I would have to make the same reply three times if they were not together. The comments in between were not at all related and there should be no confusion. So I think it made the discussion page much more useful what I did.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:52, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
::Well I don't know about the other users, but I know for a fact that mine wasn't in response to the first one. I don't even know what the first one said, I just moved it from the explanation to comment page. And mine was posted immediately after it because I was chronologically the second comment made. I had no reason to wait (interestingly, you moved someone else's comment so that I was replying to it, even though it didn't exist when I posted.) [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 00:41, 24 March 2016 (UTC)
:::I cannot see that what you say is true about moving your comment. I just checked the history and here is what I found: 
'''This was what it looked like before my changes:''' 
--- 
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.

I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}

I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
 --- 
'''This what it looked like after:''' 
--- 
the women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new?
sorry for commenting here, but I do not have rights to create a new page, which seems to be necessary for posting the fire comment. Will move once the comment section is created.
:I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) given the looks of their hair {{unsigned|Chichak|March 23, 2016}}
::I think they're children [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:33, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:::The first one certainly looks like Hair Bun, but the second one (which in in the explanation is presented as Megan) has a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character, perhaps? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.166|108.162.218.166]] 17:05, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
::::As the tire comes from a truck and it's diameter is more than half the height of these small girls they are definitely kids (not that Randall could not have made adults make a swing as like in [[150]]). Also this makes it much more funny that they both stole a car and beat up an angry adult. And now they are going all environmental after wards. So they are not Megan (which looks nothing like a curly haired girl) and also not Hair Bun Girl as it is defined that these characters are adults. There are many stories using kids and they will never represent Cueball, Megan or Ponytail etc. Those with hats are for instance never drawn small! Have thus corrected the explanation. But it still seems to miss much more on the environmental issue which is the subject/point of the comic if not the joke --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:19, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

Maybe they got the truck from Black Hat's garage? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:34, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:Then they would have lost the fight: [[433: Journal 5]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

I have yet to use a tire swing that was made from a worn tire (worn by the road not by swinging). From my experience, expired tires used by automobiles typically have sharp metal protruding from the rubber. This would make a dangerous tire swing. I thought landscaping (rubber mulch) and playgrounds was the preferred recycling method for used tires?--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:35, 23 March 2016 (UTC)
:I think you are correct. We have one for our kids (though it sucked and we took it down again) and that was a brand new tire, but not one I think would be suitable for any car though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:22, 23 March 2016 (UTC) 
--- 
'''As can be seen'''
:::I have only moved one comment up, and that was not yours! That you did not check that there already seemed to be two comments above yours, about the appearance of the girls, doesn't mean that it would not make sense to pool all these questions and comments regarding exactly this topic together to give just one answer. And as you can see from the above '''I did NOT move your comments''', but I moved someone else's comment, in between the first and second of your comments, to be able to reply to all four things already written about the girls (ie. 1) The women do not look like Megan and Hair Bun Girl to me, are they new? 2) I think they are Thelma and Louise (from the movie) 3) I think they're children and 4) ... a somewhat curly hair. Could she be another character?) All that was what I replied to, now possible to do in one go right beneath all four remarks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:47, 25 March 2016 (UTC)
::::There was only one comment before mine, and it was 2 paragraphs. You moving the second half into a reply of the first half caused some of the confusion here [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:54, 26 March 2016 (UTC)
:::::OK now I understand, so it was not your comment I moved, but the previous comment that I split in two (that was a mistake). That you did not answer to the comment above was of course not clear since it was on the same subject. Again this, as I understand it, was caused by someone posting a comment in the explanation, and you moving it into the comments section (which was fine, but made it hard to find out who posted what.) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:58, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

== Gardening ==

You mention "three links to images that did not work" in my "garden store for deer" entry. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png/739px-13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png These]
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png/739px-13xn667h2jlw.jonmk1.5455.png three]
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png/739px-13xod68rb29s.7fj65u.5455.png links]
all work for me; they are images I tried to upload, scaled as large as the server would allow (739x461). Somehow I can upload images but not create image pages (also the spam protection is still triggered, so creating this account seems to accomplish nothing). It's very strange that the server has stored them but won't allow anyone else to view them (after logging out, it tells me I "must be logged in to upload files" instead of displaying the images). Someone should rescue the images from wherever they reside on the server.

The "face" I referred to (the second image) is really a cluster of leaves and branches: the bottom cluster of the rightmost tree looks like a head in profile, with curly hair, an eye, a grinning mouth, and a prominent nose. The two rightmost trees started with no branches (first image), but grew several when I placed a light above them. I moved the light so the face wouldn't be destroyed and tried to grow branches on the lower trunks. The third image is essentially the same as what you uploaded today.

Regarding Megan's office furniture: I'd actually pruned her second wand whenever it appeared, and then the bird took its place. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 15:29, 8 April 2016 (UTC)
:Hi .42 First I think it take a few days (three) before you are allowed to create new pages to fight off spam boots that we have had problems with. I cannot see you images I get the following message:
:'''Internal Server Error'''
:'''This file (13xmd97bimg0.n2wbws.5455.png) doesn't belong to the current user.'''
:Cool that you have logged in as a user, although poor name ;-) On the other hand if you are a fan of Hitchhikers Guide then I guess it would be cool enough by the way. I'm happy to see that I finally get a chance to prune some of my gardens after several upsets since the comic came out. If I can help you with the images let me know. Maybe you can post them somewhere else and I can find upload them for you? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:34, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

::I'll try to upload tomorrow, then. I don't know where the server found the .42 IP address — that isn't my address! It's ''really weird'' that it chose this number. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 16:18, 8 April 2016 (UTC)

Have you seen libra's [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=480#p3954408 purple light] gardens? [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 22:58, 11 April 2016 (UTC)
:No I had not. I like the stilt on platform up in tree. I did not know this could happen. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 12 April 2016 (UTC)

== [[1703: Juno|NASA versus the press]] ==
Hi Kynde. I'm afraid I disagree. It seems pretty clear to me that the question about the tip-off comes from NASA. I've added a topic to the talk page, where I explain my reasoning, and where this should be discussed if you still disagree. Thanks! [[User:Garik|Garik]] ([[User talk:Garik|talk]]) 16:52, 6 July 2016 (UTC)
:Yes I still disagree. To me it seems like a continuation of the conference and it is now the press to speak. And given that I knew Juno to be related to Jupiter but not that she was the daughter of Saturn (and given the reason for the naming in the real world) I would not say that the name in any way would lead anyone to take it as a hint for going to Saturn. But great to discuss it. Will post this on the [[Talk:1703:_Juno|talk page]] too. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:21, 6 July 2016 (UTC)

== 1712: Politifact ==
Hi, I'm the BOT and I'm BORG...

...nevertheless your enhancement to the transcript was too much. And I think your enhancements to the explain section is also overrunning the target.

But I just only did revert the transcript. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:19, 28 July 2016 (UTC)
:HI BORG... :/
:I Highly disagree with your changes.
:A transcript serves several functions:
#To make it possible to find out what any text/characters reads, even if it is hard to read in the comic.
#To make a description of what happens in the images. This has two purposes:
##So people with eye disabilities can find out what the comic is about. So here a full description of the comic is needed apart from the text.
##So it is possible to search the comic for info on the content, like a woman with a hat with a white tag.
#Finally it is great if the transcript represents the way it is written in the comic as close as possible including colors (which should also be described in the text for those that cannot see them selves). So tables, colors and formatting is fine. If the text then is harder to read it is possible to copy paste it.
:I can see there may have been a bit of explanation in that I wrote about what Megan did in the previous panel, but that is not enough to just undo the whole thing.
:I will reinsert the transcript and if you disagree then lets discuss either on that comic or in a general fora on what a transcript should contain.
:Regards, just Kynde. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 29 July 2016 (UTC)

== Follow-Up on that "Random Chat" ==
Hey dude! Uh... wow this is awkward. You said hi to me in the random chat on my user page. I said hi. Then we never said anything else to each other again. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:07, 25 October 2016 (UTC)
:Hi Jay. Not so awkward. :-) I mean you just said thanks, and thus did not really initiate any chat. Do you have anything in mind? Like something to be improved here on explain? Something larger maybe that could need discussion. Or anything else... Problem is of course that when I chat to you here, you do not get any reminder like when I chat on your page and visa versa. So I will make a post on your page that I have answered here... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:04, 25 October 2016 (UTC)
::Well, by that, I just meant a simple random chat. Like a "hey! how are you doing? that's nice... what do you like to do in your free time..?" kind of chat. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:18, 26 October 2016 (UTC)
:::Ah well, I guess I would not really like to have such a chat on these pages, so sorry that I misunderstood you. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:19, 26 October 2016 (UTC)
::::It's alright.. also.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :D --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 14:41, 31 October 2016 (UTC)
:::::Wow... it's (almost) a whole year since then. Time sure flies by, huh? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]][[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]] 12:34, 9 October 2017 (UTC)
::::::Yes that is true. Actually more since the first contact ;-) Haven't been so active the last half year. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:22, 11 October 2017 (UTC)

== [[1751: Movie Folder]] ==

Assuming that Black Hat only has good movies is rather absurd, as there's not a shred of evidence to support this. Especially since this is Black Hat we're talking about. Therefore, there's no evidence that Titanic 98 is about the ship hitting the reef, and therefore, the calculations about stacking 97 ships have no relevance. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.79.81|172.68.79.81]] 15:06, 1 November 2016 (UTC)
:Since this is relevant to a specific comic, I suggest that you just leave this comment on that specific comic's discussion board. Thank you. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 15:13, 1 November 2016 (UTC)
::Yes that is true Jay. Anyway there is reason to believe that Black Hat either thinks or teases Cueball with his movies, and thus he suggest that the movies he has are god. Also the other comment he makes suggest this. So I think there is a lot of evidence that this movie 98 is one in the series of movies where Titanic hits the reef of older Titanics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:05, 2 November 2016 (UTC)
:::Cueball names 7 movies, Black Hat replies to 4 of those. He has definitively positive things to say about 2 of those, and simply states information about another. In that context, there's no reason to assume his comment about the Titanic series should be interpreted as a claim that he considers Titanic 98 to be 'good'. And with only 2 of the other 6 known movies in his collection being stated as 'good', that's clearly not "a lot of evidence" that Titanic 98 is 'good'. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 21:24, 3 November 2016 (UTC)
::::Well we disagree on that then. If the explanation should be changed on the basis of this discussion it should be moved to the relevant discussion page. If it is the same person who wrote from both IP .81 and .86 you could move it there your self. Feel free to include my replies, but leave out Jays as that has nothing to do with the discussion. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:56, 4 November 2016 (UTC)
:::::[[Talk:1751: Movie Folder#Titanic XCVIII|Done]]. (Yes, .81 and .86 were me) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.86|108.162.237.86]] 16:57, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

== Transcript TLDR; ==
*I got so tired of Dgbrt's negative comments (TLDR;), that I have collapsed them here below. Fell free to read them if you really wish by clicking: --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
 
Please stop to write this massive texts into the transcript. Have a look at the discus at the last (1798) comic. And also think about that you are the only one who is entering those massive explains perhaps also nobody does read. LESS is often MORE! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:43, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:Maybe. I was under the impression that they where both there for those that had problems with vision, and also so you could search on something you remembered from a comic and find it using that tool. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::Even visually impaired persons don't like it (see 1798). And TLDR means "too long; didn't read", just in case. You should consider this. Reading the transcript should not take much longer than identifying the features from picture itself. Every spoken text and a short description what is shown should be suffice. At [[1799: Bad Map Projection: Time Zones]] even not every county must be mentioned; showing differences to a regular map projection should be enough because everybody knows a regular world map. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:44, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:::I completely disagree about only writing spoken text. The transcript is intended to make it possible to read all text in the image not just spoken text. It is often difficult to read all text, and also if people misread it or do not notice it by looking at the image, it will be there to find in the transcript, especially for those visually impaired. And what you said means there should be no transcript for the current comic [[1799]] where you linked to this discussion from. By the way I know what TLDR means, and also did not ask about it, if you noticed! I have seen it used here before, probably regarding something you wrote! ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::I agree with Dgbrt. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:50, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:::I expect mainly people who agree comes here, as people who are not troubled by it, might not care enough. ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::::The first criticism was done by a visually impaired person (Zetfr 23:11, 13 February 2017 (UTC)) at [[Talk:1798:_Box_Plot]]. That was the reason for me to start this discussion.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:::::Yes thanks for pointing that out. I had not read his comments when I replied before. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::Another reason for detailed transcripts with image descriptions is that sometimes people have misunderstood what is in the image, and then a transcript can be used to make sure what is there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:33, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:::All that may go into the explain section; it doesn't belong to the transcript.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:52, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
::::Yes maybe, but will the visibly impaired not also be annoyed about it there. Then maybe in a trivia section if there is need. I will try that for [[1798]] I think. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 15 February 2017 (UTC)

Maybe not known to all. In the past Randall provided a transcript on each comic. It is in a hidden div-tag. Then something went wrong and the transcript actually belonged to an older comic. Right now there is no transcript anymore. But have look at this example (shown on https://xkcd.com/1664/ for https://xkcd.com/1662/):
<pre>
[[Two children, a girl and a boy, are talking to an adult woman as they walk away from her. The boy has a bucket.]]
Girl: Me and Jack are going up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
[[The children have left; the woman calls after them.]]
Woman: Okay, have fun! [[The woman stands and thinks.]]
Woman: ... wait. What the heck is going on with the hydrology around here?
{{Title text: Jill and Jack began to frack. The oil boosts their town. But fractures make the bedrock shake and Jack came tumbling down.}}
</pre>
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:07, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
:Yes I tried to include this on explain xkcd by making a [[xkcd#Transcript_on_xkcd|description]] of it on the [[xkcd]] page some weeks ago. Transcript are of course even more important now that there are no longer transcripts on xkcd. The first problem arose after the [[Hoverboard]] comic where the transcript for all comics after that was shifted two and later three comics from the one they belonged to. The last of those shifted transcript ended with [[1674]] whose transcript was found three comics later at [[1677]]. But also comics with transcript needs a better transcript here on xkcd, to include other written text, and small important details, as well as we are using given names for characters which Randall has never used (or only rarely uses). Actually Randall has once made a direct link to Explain xkcd for a better transcript. Alas there was not transcript until this year, where I made it: See this [[Payloads#Trivia|trivia]] under [[Payloads]].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:16, 17 February 2017 (UTC)

I'm glad this discussion is finally taking place. I raised the point a while back on [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#purpose_of_detailed_transcripts the community portal] but nobody noticed. I tried again on [[1795]] but attention had already moved on to the next comic... Seems I got it right this time ;-)
Different people may have different uses for the transcripts. For me, being visually impaired, the right level of detail is that of Randall's official transcripts. It should include every written word in the comic (spoken, printed, in captions, etc.) and just enough information on what's going on to "get it", but not how things are drawn. E.g. "Cueball is talking to Megan", not "Cueball, on the left, has his right arm extended towards Megan who is sitting on a chair" (unless the chair somehow plays a part in the story). Imagine you're talking on the phone: "hey, I saw a great comic this morning, here is how it goes..." and then "tell" yor friend the joke, rather than "describe" the comic. BTW, I think this also serves your goal of being able to search old comics for a specific element. The element you'll remember will be something important to the comic's story, not a graphical detail such as a character's position or the number of lines drawn around his hand to indicate movement. Anyway, thanks for the good work!! Zetfr 16:18, 16 February 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks for the input, especially to Zetfr. I had not seen your comment on 1795 or in the community portal. I'll have a look, and thanks to Dgbrt for letting me know about your latest comment. I will try to keep out the details in the transcript. For me personally I have often been looking for a specific thing, like searching for the comic where Cueball stands on a chair with a sword or rotates in an office chair. As I could not remember any lines spoken, and because those making the transcript had not mentioned either spinning office chair, or sword, I could not search my way to them even in this explain page. I have found them later, but by chance. And then I put in the details. Maybe I have gotten carried away, so sorry about that. I think the details somehow belongs, but if that should be in the trivia, or at the bottom of the transcript...? I'm not sure, which was also why I put it in the transcript. Being the one who makes the most edits and also hard work (large tables, and huge transcripts) I'm happy Zetfr likes the page :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:09, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
::I have changed the transcript for [[1795]] putting the details into a subesection of the transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:38, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:::Hi Kynde, I still disagree with this subsection solution. You don't have to repaint the picture by text! If a detail is important for understanding a pun it has to be mentioned in the transcript itself; otherwise it is useless and oversized. E.g.: Nobody wants to know -- and wont remember later -- if there are two, three, four, or five sound symbols and how they are painted. The single word "SOUND" describes all. And please consider: Nobody reads those long texts. LESS is often MORE!.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:04, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
::::Hi Dgbrt. We can movie it into a trivia. I think some of it is relevant, and sometimes it is hard to find out which part will be searched for later. But I guess we two alone would end in a [[1800: Chess Notation|½-½]] for this discussion so far... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:41, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:::::I completely agree with Dgbrt. The transcript should say *what* Randall wants to tell us, not *how* he tells it. In most cases this should also work to let you search for details you remember. In your example, Cueball holding a sword is certainly important to the comic's point, so it should be mentioned in the transcript. But the length and position of the sword are irrelevant, and probably not what you'll search for. Obviously, there is no hard rule to decide what should or shouldn't go into the transcript, it's a matter of personal judgment and common sense, but I think we can all agree on general guidelines. Regarding the "Detailed image description" section tested in [[1795]], I have no problem with that. I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but it won't do any harm either, so if you're willing to put in the extra work, go for it. Zetfr 12:17, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
::::::Thanks Zetfr. About the extra details, they could be put into a section where you had to press to see the extra details. I do not know if a reader will pass over that. For instance like I have done with explanation for several categories like [[:Category:New Year]] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Nice find for [[1461:_Payloads]], I didn't now Randall refers to this wiki. According to ''web.archive.org'' that hint was entered between 2015-01-25 and 2015-02-07 and refers to the entire wiki page, not only "our" transcript. So it's absolutely NOT embarrassing as you wrote in the trivia section. I'm setting an incomplete tag for the transcript and trivia section and edit it tomorrow (18th Feb). I will let you know what I've done and why. Stay tuned...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:59, 17 February 2017 (UTC)
:The rework on [[1461:_Payloads]] is done. But I didn't remove the incomplete tag. That's up to you. Like Zetfr I'm not sure it will ever be useful to anyone, but the larger description on a separate page would be acceptable to me. Furthermore I've done some investigations on Randalls links to this wiki and put it together in a new category: [[:Category:Explain_mentioned_by_Randall]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:57, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
::Thanks both for the "nice find" and for reworking Payloads, and especially for the new category. Great find. I will look at the other examples soon. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:12, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Many thanks by me for this positive and productive discussion. It seems there are some more former transcripts which need a rework. I personally will focus on checking all the JSON-scripts I downloaded today (1799 at all; ofcourse 404 doesn't exist; and exactly seven contain the word "explainxkcd"). I will write a small script to put them into a human readable form and present it somewhere here for further use. Stay tuned... --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:45, 18 February 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks Dbgrt. And really cool how you made that new category. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:14, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

== [[xkcd]] page and subpages ==

You moved some contented into subpages which doesn't make it better. There is no need to describe in [[Design of xkcd.com]] a layout everybody can see. The lemma "Design" requires just a few lines of text but you repeat all the "Content". And just for interest: Before the redirect to https was in place (a few weeks ago) there was language specific advertising for the shop. I'm looking forward for a better and more compressed form on all of this. Any suggestions?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:07, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
:Hi Dgbrt. My reason for making this page, is that the links, the comics, the headline, the byline, the warning etc. all changes with time, and I would like users of this site to have easy access to earlier links. Just like we have a category for the fotter comics (which I by the way did not make, but enjoyed, because I never thought absolute that he must have had them before all those five comics had been published and that they thus must have changed). So I thought similar things would be nice to have for changes to the layout and hence I decided to describe it. Maybe it was too much, but I like to have the archive links to changes. And since I had already done lots of work on this, I just copied all the new text to another page, to not delete it. And yes as I have said on Davidy's page I should not have put it on the xkcd page to begin with. But when I started I had no idea it would end up soooo long. Waiting to hear your comments on this info, before going further with suggestions. But thanks for asking. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:16, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
::All those pages are on my agenda; your edit or not. I don't care. But I will not delete any content without an agreement. I will present something in a sandbox at my user page. You are welcome there (not before tomorrow). And consider, this wiki is not a backup for archive.org.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:56, 24 February 2017 (UTC)
:::I think this wiki is for explaining xkcd, not just the comics. I believe you agree as I have seen on Davidy's talk page. And major changes or important revisions to the main page is important in my opinion. For instance I'm sad to see that the [[xkcd warning]] has gone from xkcd, and think it is important to let it be know it was there for many years. Where to do so? And how to find it if you did not know about it? There need to be a place that links to it, directly or indirectly through the xkcd page. I look forward to see you [[Time|sand castle]]. :-) Please leave a comment here when you have something you wish me to see, with a link. Regarding you answer to my comment, I meant that I would hear what you had to say before I came with suggestions. Not that you should not do anything before I made one. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 24 February 2017 (UTC)

== I am still calm... ==

...why I shouldn't? You see things inspiring others to see more things... (<- you would wrote 500 words for this) and you are still not able to put the pun on the top of an explanation. Keep your focus on the pun, not on every Million possibilities behind the drawing. And you can be sure I will have an eye on this because this is NOT "dreamingxkcd".--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:15, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
:Well I'm not! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:09, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

== Aggressive edits ==

While I was talking to others about the explanation and the transcript for more than 24 hours you need only one hour to change everything that was discussed before. Again all red is yours: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1810%3A_Chat_Systems&diff=137245&oldid=137225 1810: Chat Systems changes]. Editors, mainly not me, don't like it when all their work is changed after you finished your edits. Please respect other editors! --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:50, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
:I do not change everything. I add. But we are obviously not going to agree on this. I would prefer not to discuss with you. How do yo know what the others like or not. In the discussions we have had I found more against your way of communication than against my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:57, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
::Massive changes and you call it add??? So tell me your adds and explain how all they other changes happened. I will add a sentence to the comic discussion because it's senseless here.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:14, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
:::Yes it is. And it is a real shame that you have decided to know how this wiki should be. Hope that Davidy soon tells one of us to back off. If it is me then I will have to take it into account. So far he has only had nice things to say to me about my work here, which is not what I have seen regarding your work. Have you read the other users that calls your tone negative/aggressive or even worse? I have really tried to speak nicely to you, but you never seems to accept any edits I do. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:21, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
::::Your "Citation needed" template add to my text is just one example for what I call aggressive. Hiding four paragraphs is an other.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:09, 14 March 2017 (UTC)
</div>
 

== Possible Issues with Updating Old Comics ==

I know you spent a lot of time making edits to many older comics, so I thought you might have some input on one that I'm thinking needs a change - 38 Apple Jacks. I noticed you edited it a little a couple years ago. It's the one where the father tells his son they don't taste like apples, and his son tells him off.

The title text description says it appears to be another case of Randall explaining the comic to readers who don't know about the old commercial, but I think it might be the father telling the son why he was saying that to him. I think it's worth at least adding, if not totally replacing the current description, but I see you had previously added to it during your edits.

How would you handle that type of change, if it were you? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:38, 3 April 2018 (UTC)
: Hi Ianrbibtitlht
:I disagree with the idea you have. And my reason for that is based in the original quote from Randall when posting this comic to live journal where he asks:
::"Who else remembers those commercials?"
::See the comics [[38:_Apple_Jacks#Trivia|Trivia section]].
::To me indication that since no one did, he added the explanation in the title text.
:The son dismissed his father completely, and I do not think the father goes on.
:And since many of xkcd's readers may not know the reference he explains it in the title text.
:He did the same with the title text in [[30: Donner]], which is what is refereed to in the title text explanation. I have added links between these two examples. There may be more.
:Of course you are free to add an alternative explanation, and see if any one notices enough to complain about/remove it. ;-)
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

::I appreciate the feedback. I don't feel strongly enough to modify it at this point but thought it might be an added insight that nobody had thought about! ;-) [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:57, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

:::Thanks for asking, by the way. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:46, 5 April 2018 (UTC)

== Need help ==
A few things. Several people have mentioned that ReCAPTCA v1 has expired, and something needs to be done about that. But no one has replied to the admin forum, so not sure what is going on. Are there even any admins still here? Seems like they've all disappeared. And should we create a new forum for questions and things like that? And if all the admins have left, should there be like more admins or something like that? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 07:51, 8 April 2018 (UTC)
:Hi
:I haven't any idea about ReCAPTCA and Im not an admin. But yes if there is no one that replies it is a problem. Davidy is the obe I have had discussions with but he did not reply the last two times I wrote. Don't know if DGBRT with the BOT has any knowledge that can be used. Try those two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:30, 9 April 2018 (UTC)
::FYI, we still have admins here and there will be a major update soon at one of the next weekends. BTW, I prefer it in lowercase: dgbrt - like xkcd--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:16, 16 April 2018 (UTC)
:::Thanks for the info dgbrt, and it sounds greawt. (Your signature is with capital D but that is maybe just as the username? I will use dgbrt from now on). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 23 April 2018 (UTC)

== All is red again - you changed everything according to the diff ==

Hi, look at [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1981%3A_Rickrolling_Anniversary&diff=155913&oldid=155905 your edits] and tell me how someone can see what you have changed. Please keep your changes to smaller parts.

And beginning an explanation with a youtube link which even doesn't work in some countries like Germany is also not a god start to an explanation. I'm referring to your edits above. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:27, 16 April 2018 (UTC)
:OK, sorry about that. I will try to make smaller changes. The link was not one I put in, I just moved it to the beginning to rickroll someone - it was a joke... Of course if the link did not work I can understand why you did not get Rickrolled. But the link had already been included in the explanation before my edits. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:24, 18 April 2018 (UTC)
::Thanks for your understanding, "all is red..." was the reason why I started this section, the video link was meant as a minor remark and that it doesn't work in Germany is even less important for the explanation.
::But I didn't understand your joke. So what do you think about changing all the internal links like [[Cueball]] to rickroll the readers - of course only less important links.
::BTW: Around 2009 and some years later the German GEMA Mafia tried to block all music content until they got the money. Even dashcam videos from the meteorite incident in Chelyabinsk were blocked when you could hear something from the radio in the car. This has changed and newer uploads are now available to me (including Rick). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:02, 18 April 2018 (UTC)
:::The joke was that this comic was about rickrolling and the link was to the ricrolling youtube video... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:30, 19 April 2018 (UTC)

I just tried to make several smaller changes, and it was much more difficult to me, with the risk of making mistakes... But have a look at this then: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1982:_Evangelism&action=history Evangelism history].--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:45, 19 April 2018 (UTC)
:I like that but the development of this comic explanation is funny and not a typical one. Many vast changes were done after your comment here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:01, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
::Well happy you do. Most of the changes were improvement, but often based on or improving parts I had edited (well I had edited most parts ;-) What I meant was that some of the good changes only came about because of the changes I had done in the first place. Still seems we need a citation for primates opening at the "wrong" end though? {{unsigned|Kynde}}
:::You know I'm a fan of short explanations just covering what's in the comic. And in [[1982: Evangelism]] there is no "wrong banana end" mentioned. It just mentions "the other" - which is of course always "wrong". The title text then indeed refers to a schism in Europe - the Americans weren't much developed by that time (excepting the natives).
:::BTW: My major workload here right now is working on the health of this wiki. You probably haven't seen my latest comment five days ago just a section above. We will get an update soon. Stay tuned.
:::BTW2: You have forgotten to sign your comment ;)
:::--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:19, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
::::Yes we are not fan of the same type of explanations we have covered that. I believe that the majority of humans do peel the banana from the opposite end of that cited (without citations) to what primates do... I'm not sure there is any year for the schism in Europe so who knows how developed the US was at that time. Bananas is a rather new thing in Europe I believe!
::::And no I had not seen that comment, probably same time you posted this comment thread? But sounds great! Are you an admin now? And do you have any contact with Davidy... He went off the xkcd explain grid long time ago.
::::I have amended my mistake and will sign this time ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:12, 23 April 2018 (UTC)

== You blanked the page [[1996]] ==

A you can see [[Talk:1995: MC Hammer Age|here]] "I decided to let it stay there as it is but on Monday that redirect will AND must be overwritten in the meaning of a comic number." That blank page isn't better than my decision. Beginning on Monday the number 1996 MUST be used for navigation (i.e. Comic Number) and nothing else.

Other future comics will be: 1999, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2038. That's all!

All those future comics (by number) - beginning with 1996 on Monday - AND that older ones (by name) should have a disambiguation line on top when the comic number overrides that name.

The problem is the logic at this wiki. While at xkcd the number and name have different meanings and navigation is only done by number it's not true here. While <nowiki>https://xkcd.com/1996</nowiki> will lead to the next future comic and is unique the link <nowiki>https://explainxkcd.com/1996</nowiki> could mean number OR name. We also use the number for navigation, so the abbreviation in the meaning as a comic name can not be supported for those eight comics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:58, 19 May 2018 (UTC)
:Hi DBBRT
:I first saw your comments after I had blanked it. And I thought it was better to avoid confusion over the weekend. So I did not return it. I think it could be better to already now remove those page re-directions for the comics you mention now, to avoid confusion on all those numbers... A lot of those the next 20 comic or so. We already had a similar situation with [[1337]], because of the LEET comic series. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 23 May 2018 (UTC)
::Read my future comic list above, it's only seven. And the blank page confused some users also. Nevertheless I will change the comic template, navigation to the right will not be shown when the target is greater than the LATESTCOMIC. The BOT will update those redirects anyway. I just prefer some tests at home to figure out the best solution before editing here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:53, 23 May 2018 (UTC)
:::Well, I think 7 times confusing in 20 comics is a lot, but I can read that you are working on avoiding it, so that is great. I'm very impressed by your bot, but then again I have very little programming experience and it was back in my days as a PhD Student around 2002... (Pascal...) Great you have made it and keep improving it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 25 May 2018 (UTC)
::::Thanks for your kind words. I still don't understand the 20, it's only seven comics and I've changed the global comic template so that this is SOLVED now. There is no link to [[1999]] in the navigation bar today. But on Monday my bot will update that page in the meaning of a comic number and the right navigation in [[1998: GDPR]] will be shown. FYI: I'm a professional programmer. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:04, 25 May 2018 (UTC)
:::::Must have been unclear. I meant that over the next 20 comics, there would have been this issue 7 times i.e. about once every week, and I found that it could have caused confusion a lot in those 7 weeks. But now you have solved this with you prof. programmer skills. ;-) So there is no longer any problems. Great work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:04, 27 May 2018 (UTC)
::::::Thanks for your kind words. And I've done more: Embedding pictures from Commons works again and it's now also possible to change the size. See my latest edit here [[1400: D.B. Cooper]] which uses this statement <nowiki>[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]</nowiki>. That image is not uploaded here, click at it in the comic and you will see. I've mentioned this in the Community portal. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:07, 27 May 2018 (UTC)
:::::::Cool. I'm not sure how this works. Looks at first like the image is on the local wiki but I can see it is not so. But how does this works. Can you write the "File" formula for any picture name on commons and then get it embedded here like that? It is beyond my computer skills :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:02, 28 May 2018 (UTC)
::::::::When the picture isn't here it's searched on Commons. When it's found it's only cached at this wiki. In general it works like a local file. This did already work in the past until it was broken. But now we also can change the size, play with that 150px in the preview. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:15, 28 May 2018 (UTC)
:::::::::Thx --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:08, 28 May 2018 (UTC)

== Why you still focus on that SAD comics? ==

I focus on all edits done here and your edits are minor (there are much more edits here needing some attention), nonetheless I would be happy to find a solution on that ''sad'' thoughts are in your mind. I respect your thoughts, but that trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' really dohttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/User_talk:Kyndees not belong to that comic at all. It was deleted before, you reverted that -- by not reading or ignoring the discussion page -- and I just want to prevent an edit war. Furthermore I removed your statement about "trolls" at the discussion page because that's not polite.
*And now
**I start
***with
****your layout
*****You see???
Try to write full sentences without bullets. I'm hoping you understand my major two parts here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:21, 27 October 2018 (UTC)
:Yes I did not read the comments. I was looking for the sad list, when I fond it missing. I saw through the edit and found the following comment:
::This "sad comics" list is utterly pointless and has no reason to exist. I don't regret deleting this waste. If anyone wants to keep it up, revert the edit, but make it readable, compact, and make at least one bit of sense. (Emojis? must be TRUMP!!?!one1!))
:I did not see any discussion there, and found it rude and also not done properly (with many links pointing to this section). So I just reverted it. It could be given its own page though.
:Regarding politeness I must say I did not find most of your comments on the talk page polite as I just read them. As you state "no one has criticized it before", so maybe it is just you, and now some years later a few guys that begins rambling on about it.
:As to why, I think it is quite clear that Randall was sad after the election. Maybe I took it too far, and it should no longer have been "sad", but about comics pointing to a political agenda by Randall. As Randall is on the move again with the mid term election coming, he has both a new political comic out, and has changed the header text with regards to registering for voting twice in a month.
:So I definitely still find it relevant. That has not changed just because two years have passed. What Trump does at the moment is even more disturbing than ever, and I'm sure Randall is thick and tried of it still! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:38, 29 October 2018 (UTC)
::PS. The layout was me trying to make a list of comics that was related to this issue. And with date and events listed as well. Maybe it can be done better, but I at least kept the format throughout. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:39, 29 October 2018 (UTC)
:::You always do this nested bullet lists. That's ugly layout. One bullet and one or two short sentences, not more. In most cases you just should simply omit the bullets and write full sentences. The page [[Design of xkcd.com]] is an other example for this bad layout.
:::But back to the main issue: Even jet you did not read the comments completely. Only after "A) Why does the sad comics list exist (see comment above)?..." I came in. And on 27 October 2018 I mentioned at least four incomplete reasons (the transcript was you).
:::So I recall: The trivia at ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]'' does not belong to that comic at all, and even at a different page the title would be wrong because most of the listed comics are NOT sad. Furthermore I don't know how you do know how Randall feels, he is just a writer and these are only comics.
:::There was a reason why David was against a category for sad comics, and this is still valid. This is the only reason why this section at the trivia of 1756 exists, be honest.
:::So my proposal is:
:::*moving the content to a separate page, either with a new title or only moving the "sad" content and deleting the rest
:::*using the link from the menu: "What links here" at 1756 ([[Special:WhatLinksHere/1756: I'm With Her]]) to fix the links to that part (mostly your former work) and maybe also change the text
:::The comic 1756 has to be explained mainly in the context of the time BEFORE the election. It was a campaign for Hillary Clinton, anything later done by Trump is irrelevant, besides that it has to be mentioned that the campaign wasn't successful. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:16, 29 October 2018 (UTC)
::::Well, I definitely know that the comment in here is mine. I did very much hate the list because, as mentioned in the talk page on the comic, the section was completely disorganized. It took up half of the entire page. As Dgbrt mentioned, the format you use is honestly really ugly, and I have to agree. The real problem that I found was ''after'' I posted the comment he quoted.
::::In that comment, I mentioned that it should have had its own category instead of being completely on that single page, which would have prevented it from the eyes of those who don't like this format. Alternatively, it could have been in a table, a format much more compact, several times easier to understand, and at least 12 octillion times less infuriating to look at.
::::The other mind-boggling and frankly stupid thing about the list, of course, was that you added '''''every. Single. Comic.''''' ...if it seemed to be remotely sad (and even if it ''wasn't sometimes!'') and tried to link it to the political situation and Trump. I, in that comment, presented two of the comics in a - admittedly more asshole-ish - way that you linked them like this. But that's the ''core'' of all of this drama. Hell, in multiple of the comics, you even said that no "big" event seemed related to the situation and simply just put it in because it mentioned the military or security. And even for some of the ones you did present a political event, the speculation that you presented for Randall making these comics was beyond 4chan with Smash Ultimate level.
::::Like I said in that comment, it isn't necessarily a political comment just because something big happened that day. Vomiting Emoji and Flag, the two I highlighted in my comment, have explanations that are just plainly absurd. Randall "expressing fear" that the moon would be gone before the eclipse was ''obviously'' a joke. Randall making a joke that has a flag in the picture doesn't mean he's going to rebel against the United States, make his own country, and science his way to taking it over just so that Trump is no longer the ruler.
::::I wouldn't have had these problems if the list weren't so outlandishly absurd, and combined with the fact that it clogged up the page with a lot of meaningless speculation, I felt pushed to just delete the entire thing. Yes, that may have been extreme of me, and I should apologize for being fed up, but I still maintain that a lot of the stuff on that list is bad. If it's presented in - again - a way that doesn't hurt to read or filled up with what it is, I would have not as many problems with it. But as it looks right now, just making the list collapsible doesn't remove the problem; it's like putting White-Out on a yellow test paper and saying that the question never existed, despite the fact that it's obvious that something is wrong. [[User:Halo422|Halo422]] ([[User talk:Halo422|talk]]) 04:05, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
:::::A bit complicated to reply now. But to Dgbrt I did not read any comments until your post here. I was pissed about the deletion of the entire section, and just undid it. As Dgbrt wrote it can only be deleted properly by also removing links that goes there. I'm not using the page that much at the moment, and do not read all comments. This is also why I first see your comments today.
:::::Dgbrt do you have any good idea for a page title? If it is only the first few comics that are clearly sad, could it then be called "Sad comics"? And should it be a page or a category? If we can find a solution for that, I will try to change it so it can be tolerable... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:01, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::::I'm honest: I vote for deleting that section. The main reason is that we don't know how Randall feels, whether sad or not. We just have comics, not an autobiography.
::::::If you still vote for keeping I only can see two possibilities:
::::::*Keep the title "Sad comics", move it to a single page (no subpage to any comic), remove most of the content, write a proper text instead of bullets, and start it like "Some comics may suggest the impression..." because your "...clear trend..." is nonsense.
::::::*Or, move everything to a separate page, but then I have no idea about any proper title.
::::::BTW: I've created a new category: [[:Category:Elections]], and as I mention here [[:Talk:2067: Challengers]] it still needs some work. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:06, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:::::::I will think about the possibilities. And I did see your new category. Which is great by the way. There must be many of these from earlier years also?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:09, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::::::I need help on this new category because I'm sure there is more. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:12, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::I have now created [[Sad comics]] and moved the content from With her and tried to make the layout better. I do not agree with deleting the references to the other comics, but not they have been separated from the first four sad/negative comics. All links have been diverted to this page from all 16 comics. If there are other comics, not on the list, with link to that section I have not changed those... Many comics could refer to With Her for many reasons so I will not go through them all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:55, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:::You've done a big job, so thanks for this on the first place. And I can assure you that you always can find all links at the tools box "What links here", in this case when reading ''[[1756: I'm With Her]]''. I'm still not happy seeing comics like [[2064: I'm a Car]] linking to content titled as ''sad'', but that's up to other editors.
:::'''ProTip''': You should watch pages important to you, just activate "Watch this page" at the bottom when editing, or adjust your "Watchlist" at the top menu belonging to your personal profile. You will receive an email on every change. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:31, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::Yes I know about the links, but even though I have reverted the link to the sad trivia section, there may still be a link to the With her comic for other reasons. And there may even be links to the sad section from other comics not listed in my trivia, and I will not go through all pages referencing one of the controversial comics. I by the way highly disagree that we do not know Randall's political opinion. He has also endorsed Obama, so to day it is certain that he endorses the democrats vs Republican is a fact, not a guess. But you changed that on the new [[Challengers]] comic. I will not change it though. I just highly disagree with you on what is a know and what is a guess there.
::::Regarding the comics that are not sad it is not listed as being sad, that is only the first four. The rest is just listing comics that could have to do with Randall's political mood due to Trump and his politics.
::::I no longer have the time I once dedicated to this page... And hence I have taken e-mail alerts off, which is why I first noticed the deletion now. But I get e-mails on personal changes on this page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:37, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:::::While I'm still sure not knowing much about Randall's condition when his comics are published, I sense ''you'' are sad. I insist you should take a closer look on all your contributions here, which are much more than only this stupid sad stories. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 00:18, 4 November 2018 (UTC)

== I am still happy to see your additions here... ==

...you did edits I didn't like - and vice versa - but that's a war I don't like. And now I'm in a position in which I have to take care of all the health here, not only what's written.

Ironically: xkcd is also about sarcasm, the hell, shoooouuuuting on the hellll...

I will probably disagree on some of your future edits, but I don't have to judge this. That's up to others here.

So now I'm asking for help on a SMALL page introducing the memes used at this site. Like the Editor-FAQ I did. David did...not that much on that requests over a long time.

While I'm not sure about a proper title, this Wiki still leaks on a page simply showing the memes used here, linking to more specific pages, presented to evrey newbee.

--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:06, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
::Thanks.
::I'm not sure I understand the page you are talking about, or what type of memes you mean.
::Also as is probably clear I'm not using that much time on this wiki anymore. I'm not leaving it, I just do not have the time any longer. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
:::Oh, I'm also not sure, maybe just a title like "About". It often happens that new people asking questions like "Why is the mouse-over text called title text?", how character names have been developed here, and so forth. A simple page, mostly showing links with a small introduction to the more hidden pages you often maintain. New readers have simple questions we don't think about anymore, that's what I would like to present. But it seems I have to collect some more items on which you maybe can help. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:34, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
:::Ah I see. It was the meme part that failed to register. But a about page makes sense. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 20 November 2018 (UTC)

== We got a final image ==

Emoji dome has a wonderful ending image. Do you mind putting it as the current explainxkcd image? [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 18:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
:No it is perfect. I can see [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:emojidome.png someone already did], it has just not been updated on the front of the page yet. It will be before tomorrow. The other pictures should be collected on a extra page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:56, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== Removing all references to the Sad comics page ==

Hi Kynde,

I've expressed my intention to remove all references to the Sad comics page over at [[Talk:Sad_comics]], but I wanted to get your input too, since it is your page. Feel free to drop a comment over there if you want to contest this. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 12:56, 13 May 2019 (UTC)
:Hi Hawthorbn. Thanks for alerting me. Did not follow the discussion page on Sad. I of course disagree. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:56, 14 May 2019 (UTC)

== 2196 ==
I mentioned this on DgbrtBOT's talk page, but I'm not sure Dgbrt saw it. Since you're an admin, could you help me with this?
# I uploaded the file, and it appeared in the page, but the link in the List of all comics page is still red. I think I messed up the upload, so could you delete the current file (the one I uploaded) for 2196 and reupload it?
# I created an incorrect redirect page [[Nice To E-Meet you]] (The name is incorrect, I forgot to capitalize the You). Could you please delete that page? Thanks!
[[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:52, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
:Hi Herobrine. No I'm not ad admin, just very active, and cannot do anything to delete pages. I can give it a look though cause I have created a few pages long time ago when the bot was not there/working. And yes seems like Dgbrt is not active at the moment. Lets see if it works again this Monday. As you can see [[User_talk:Dgbrt#DgbrtBOT_failed_2019-08-30|here]] I tried to write directly to him. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:38, 1 September 2019 (UTC)
::Can see you have created the page with [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nice_To_E-Meet_You&redirect=no capital You] and I have now moved the image to a title with the hyphen in e-meet, which was missing in your original edit. So now [[List_of_all_comics]] works for the image as well. There are so many things which can go wrong, which is why we love out BOT. Hope it works tomorrow.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:46, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

== Category book promotion ==
Hi, you obviously know a thing or 2 about creating and adding categories, and like to do so :)
I feel like we could need a category about book promotion, with at least 3 comics related to how to and at least one to thing explainer (hoverboard, possibly also up goer five...), and myabe even others I can't remember right now. What do you think? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:31, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Maybe more a list of comics that promote books. Not comics that inspire books, so no to Up Goer Five. But it could get special mention with mention of the category in that explanation as well. But I think we need to find more than 4, five is kind of a limit. Maybe there where something for what if? But I do not think so... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:37, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::Looking at it again, we do have five :) [[Hoverboard]], [[2190: Serena Versus the Drones]], [[2198: Throw]], [[Disappearing Sunday Update]] and [[2194: How to Send a File]]
:::Well great. Do you have an idea for the category name? "Category:Book promotion" ??--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:54, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::::Sounds good to me! --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:56, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:::::Will you add that category to the comics? I can help create the page then. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:57, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
::::::Done --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:07, 4 September 2019 (UTC)
:::::::[[:Category:Book promotion]] page created and found another comic that promotes a book Randall has been involved in! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

== Broken Button ==
Hi Kynde, I've answered your question on my talk page. But I'll post it here just in case: I think you forgot to update [[Template:LATESTCOMIC]], so it would treat comic 2198 as 2197, hence breaking the button. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 22:55, 3 September 2019 (UTC)
:Thanks, DgbrtBOT has updatet it and now it works! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:40, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

== Thanks ==

I see you went through a few of my recent edits, and corrected them / replied on them / acted on them. Thanks a lot. Also, now I learned from your edits how subcategories work. Thanks also for that. :) (But, please try not to change the word typo to lupo in common use. I don't think it would be an honour :) ) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)
:I hope you could see the joke. Like when you fixed the fix? I also spotted you put a hidden joke . I will not make the same joke again. I guess it was also a kind of signature. I spotted that you where the most active last month. And was interested seeing what kind of edits. More or less I agreed with most... And cool with the spam fight. Do not use the same amount of time as I used to, but have been more active lately... Just became 2nd on all time activity list... Happy you both noticed and approved. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:09, 11 October 2019 (UTC)
::I could see the joke and I enjoyed it :) as I tend to make a lot of typos, it isn't even that far fetched to use my name instead ;). I usually visit the site a few times a day and start on the recent changes page, and check what has happened. That's also how I often quickly find the spam. The other thing I tend to do when I got some free time on my hands is use the "random page" button and find out if I can improve the place I get to. I also saw that you are progressing a lot in the all time list. Last month I even noticed you were in the monthly list at a score that would have put you in the all time top 50 on its own. Impressive! Have a good weekend. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 20:00, 11 October 2019 (UTC)
:::I'm also not native English speaker (Danish), and my grammar is probably horrible. Then it is great it is a wiki so others can fix that. I hope my additions are a plus. Have of course had rows with others, as can be seen above ;-) With some of the big one I think I have had months that would put me in top 20... (Not something I have checked). But with some of the comics where I added a lot of images, I will get a very high score as unique pages gives one point, and every picture uploaded is a new page. The amount of changes I have made puts me in nr. 1 spot, but that doesn't give much compared to number of pages visited. And please feel free to correct my typos. By the way I haven't even read all comics yet, since I have a hard time reading a new one without wishing to make corrections to transcript or explanations, so it takes some time every time I find a new. So between the first comic I saw when I found this page and then back from there there will be lots of comics I haven't even seen yet... Probably why you can find so many transcripts where caption below the panel has not been added (as it was I who began making this the way to write it). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:46, 11 October 2019 (UTC)

== Category for Back to the Future ==

Hi, can you create a category for the film series ''Back to the Future''? To start, there is [[102: Back to the Future]], [[656: October 30th]], [[1477: Star Wars]], [[2104: Biff Tannen]], [[2193: Well-Ordering Principle]], and maybe others. Thanks, [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.144|172.68.47.144]] 20:26, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
:Hi yes I can. And I did: [[:Category:Back to the Future]]. I added yours. Here is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=50&offset=0&profile=default&search=%22Back+to+the+Future%22 a search string] that may help find more (for you to add). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:31, 1 November 2019 (UTC)

== Deletion of small categories? ==

Hi Kynde! I posted this on the community portal, but it seems unresponsive, and since none of the admins have edited recently, you seem like the person to ask.
I count eight categories on explainxkcd that satisfy the following properties: 1. They have only three comics in them. 2. They aren't really a comic series; they just feature or reference a comic theme. 3. They aren't Featuring some person or character. In short, they seem to have no real reason to exist. (They're [[:Category:Spice_Girls|t]][[:Category:Wind_turbine|h]] e[[:Category:Ender%27s_Game|s]]eo[[:Category:FernGully|n]][[:Category:Giraffes|e]]s.) In addition, there are [[:Category:Sketches|t]][[:Category:BSD|h]][[:Category:Emacs|i]][[:Category:Identity_Theft|r]][[:Category:Katamari_Damacy|t]][[:Category:Super_Bowl|e]][[:Category:The_Matrix|e]][[:Category:Tournament_bracket|n]][[:Category:Traffic_light| ]][[:Category:Trebuchet|m]][[:Category:Wingsuit|o]][[:Category:Euler_diagrams|r]][[:Category:Pedantic|e]] four-comic categories that also satisfy these requirements. I know non-admins can't delete articles, but because of these articles' status, should I remove their contents and add them to [[:Category:Pages to delete]]? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 01:17, 12 November 2019 (UTC)
:Since I'm no admin just the most active over an extended period of time, I cannot really say what to do. Some of the categories I think has merit, I may even have created some of them. And there may be reason to expect more to come. But others I tend to agree. I think Randall has something with Giraffes and the Spice Girl spurt with three in short notice I think merits the categories. The other 6 with three I would not mind if they went away. But then there may need to be some links between those comics. Are you willing to make those? If you do then empty the categories, and put them as up for deletion. Most of those with four I would keep. I have NOT clicked on them all though, just read them here when I edited this response. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:56, 12 November 2019 (UTC)

== Category for Bees ==

Hi Kynde,

Can you add a category on bees, as a subcategory of [[:Category:Animals]]? I've found [[1259: Bee Orchid]], [[1186: Bumblebees]], [[2231: the Time Before And After Land]], [[2035: Dark Matter Candidates]], [[1692: Man Page]], and there are probably more. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.38|172.69.34.38]] 00:22, 22 November 2019 (UTC)
:Done [[:Category:Bees]]. Added your five comics. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:49, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

== New category - comics with store products ==

Hi Kynde, thanks for creating the new page for [[:Category:Comics with store products]]! (I was the one who added the comics to that category, but I didn't have permission to create a new page for the category itself, so I apologize for abandoning it like that.)

For the name of this category, I wanted to follow a similar pattern to existing category names such as "[[:Category:Comics from 2005]]" or "[[:Category:Comics with color]]". So for the name of this new category, I had considered some other more accurate names, such as "[[:Category:Comics upon which xkcd store products are based]]", or perhaps "[[:Category:Comics made into official merchandise]]"; but I felt that these new category names would be a bit too long, so I was trying to keep it more succinct than that. ...But now I realize that the current name I chose is not very clear, and might cause some confusion about what it's supposed to mean, so it was really a poor choice of words on my part. Do you have any ideas for a better name that we could use for this category? If so, please feel free to rename it, then I will go through all the comic pages where I added it, and update them to the new category.

On the other hand, in the edit-history of the [[:Category:Comics with store products]] page, I noticed in your comments that you felt it was maybe not a good idea for a category -- and I certainly understand that, so if you want to just remove this category completely, please feel free to do so, then I will go through and remove it from all the comics where I added it (so as not to leave any broken links behind).

Thanks for your help, and sorry for causing noob trouble!

- [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 09:57, 24 November 2019 (UTC)
:Hi Yfmcpxpj
:First of all, the comment on my creation of the page, was because I did not understand the category. Store products.. I thought it was like with products bought in a type of store... First when I clicked on a few and saw your (?) comments that a t-shirt was based on this comic, did I understand the category. Think I wrote that in my next edit, where I linked to the store. After realizing that, I though it was a great category, although adding xkcd would probably help the understand-ability: "Category: Comics with xkcd store products"
:What do you say to that title?
:Regarding my ability to make pages, that is just because I have edited enough to get that right (I know I have edited more than any one else here...) But I'm actually not an admin, and I cannot delete pages. Sadly it seems the admins have left xkcd without replacements... So not one answers admin requests, and although I'm glad to help when I can, I do not have that many rights on the page.
:But true you may have asked for someone to create the page and also maybe ask for the title before creating it. I think I will be able to rename the page though, so if you can go through all the comics and correct the category there I would like to give it a try. (Do not do this before I have changed the name!)
:What do you say? And should I add the xkcd as suggested above?
:--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:14, 24 November 2019 (UTC)

::Yes, I like your title better, "Comics with xkcd store products" -- I think it is much clearer. If you can rename the category, I will wait for that, then after it has been successfully renamed, I'll go through and update those comics to use the new one instead. And sorry to hear that the admins have been absent -- but it looks like you are doing a good job of keeping the site maintained, so thank-you for that! - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:58, 25 November 2019 (UTC)
:::I have now moved the category page. You can find the list of comics that now need to be moved [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Comics_with_store_products&redirect=no here].
:::And the new empty category here [[:Category:Comics with xkcd store products]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:26, 25 November 2019 (UTC)

::::Thanks Kynde; I have moved the remaining comics into the new category. You mentioned that you don't have permissions to delete pages, so I wonder if the old page [[:Category:Comics with store products]] should be put into parent [[:Category:Pages to delete]] so maybe the admins will delete it? - [[User:Yfmcpxpj|Yfmcpxpj]] ([[User talk:Yfmcpxpj|talk]]) 08:15, 26 November 2019 (UTC)
:::::As the old Category redirects to the new one, I guess deletion is not necessary. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:31, 26 November 2019 (UTC)
::::::If no pages refers to the old category, and to avoid anyone putting comics in that category again, it would be nice to have it deleted. But I'm not sure anyone will do that at the moment. Davidy is long gone and DGBRT seems to be absent as well... I was once asked to be an admin but declined at the time ... Maybe that was a shame, but at least I still react when someone post on my page... But I'm not that active anymore, and have never looked much through the portal pages etc. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:49, 26 November 2019 (UTC)

== Banned from Conferences Category ==

Hi Kynde, you usually have a good feeling on how Categories should be described, etc. There was a (quite short) discussion on [[153: Cryptography]], to remove a portion of the explanation. Do you think that stuff belongs into [[:Category:Banned from conferences]]? Maybe you can chime into the "discussion" on 153. -- Regards [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 14:24, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

== Edit summaries ==
Please use {{w|Help:Edit_summary|edit summaries}}; they are especially important for pages like [[:xkcd Header text]] that are infrequently monitored but have a meta-importance. Thanks. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 21:22, 16 July 2020 (UTC)
:I have more or less created the entire page from scratch. So I will not begin writing details every time I make a revision. But I use it for most other edits. I can see you care for BLM... Great, you probably know much more on this than I do. I made this page, to keep track of the header text, which was not explained on these pages. Sometimes it is relevant for a given comic, so great to have this place to write about it, and then link to it from the comics. The unfilled link was to help people wo may help editing this page, fill in when the header changed. I will do that now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:37, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
::Kynde: I don't understand how your authorship of the page (from scratch or otherwise) has anything to do with whether you should be writing details of when you make a revision. But for sensitive topics, which BLM is, it is especially important for other editors to be able to carefully review changes. And when you make a large block of changes, like you did there on July 1, with 8 different edits, edit summaries are an extremely helpful tool for everyone else. So, again, the request is to please use an edit summary, ''especially'' when you are making multiple edits in a row, and ''especially'' on pages of meta-importance like [[:xkcd Header text]]. Of course, this is not Wikipedia, the rules here (such as they are) are relatively weak, and we all should coöperate. But if your answer is "I don't have to because I wrote the page first, years ago!" that doesn't make any sense at all. If your goal was to make sense, then I don't know how to respond. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 17:50, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
:::Well I shall try to be more careful around sensitive subjects. You are one of the first other than me to have edited the page. And one of the few that have added a new section. I just changed it into the same format that I have used on all the others. And did a revision now, and sorry I forgot to write what it was out of bad habit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:57, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
::::I think the change you just made was…not great. See [[:Talk:xkcd_Header_text#Recent_BLM_edits]] where I give my opinion. But it is probably better discussed there than on your personal page, but I wanted to highlight it for you. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 18:04, 18 July 2020 (UTC)
:::::I have replied on the other talk page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:28, 21 July 2020 (UTC)

== Nationality ==

What country are you from? [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 12:34, 14 July 2021 (UTC)
:Denmark. Why? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:15, 15 July 2021 (UTC)

== Forgive this IP ==
I just made a handful of edits to recent changes that you had made (may not have been what you changed, in all cases; it might have just been pre-existing errors and Recent Changes just drew me to them). I hope it doesn't look personal, especially from an impersonal IP that you can't easily talk back to. So I'm mentioning it here to try to apologise if it does seem that way. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.85|162.158.159.85]] 18:57, 28 December 2021 (UTC)
:Hi. Thanks for telling. Since your IP will change I cannot see exactly which changes you made, but cheeked on my last changes and saw some CE and minor changes. Only thing I disagreed with (not sure it was you) was that the Launch comic should not have been released on the 24th. Which it was in most of the US if not all. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:01, 29 December 2021 (UTC)
::(Most of the changes occured under roughly the 172.70.… range, as I recall, though you can see the above switched to a whole different class-B - entirely due to the internediary's whim (Cloudflare?) without my changing anything. I'm sitting on a different connection now, so all bets are off what ''this'' will appear as. ;) )
::I have no argument with Randall posting on the 24th (his time) as the Bot got there soon enough to prove it. But of course the rest of us (mostly Europe and beyond) had a different experience. Still before the launch (whoever checked for themselves in time), which I think a couple of my edits were about. Really not huge issues, just minor fixes. You're good with those things, I know from experience, just a courtesy note (that and this). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.22|172.70.86.22]] 22:42, 29 December 2021 (UTC)
:::Maybe not you who posted. But as you can see your IP is not the same in these two posts, so I can only assume you are the same person, but cannot guess which of my edits you have changed and which someone else changed ;-) Do you have a name other than 162.158.159.85 or 172.70.86.22 ;-) Why not get an account? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:29, 30 December 2021 (UTC)
::::I just can't think of a decent username. I tend to use different ones everwhere (and never my RL identity) and most of them were 'good ideas at the time' but when the inevitable "Why is your username what it is?" thread comes around it always seems my 'explanation' is laughable. All the above in this section (that isn't you) is me, BTW. Just added an indent layer I missed. I'm happy being (slightly unpredictably) changing IP, because I seek no credit (or blame!) for my 'insights' and my ego survives well enough on such fleeting moments of anonymous fame, I assure you. ;) And I don't mind when other IP-editors 'land' on/near what I just used, either, even if they're now completely wrong.
::::Not that I think Usernames are a bad thing in general for you and others (c.f. 4chan 'anon' culture...), I'm just happy that it's one less thing to worry about in my own case! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 15:04, 30 December 2021 (UTC)
:::::Well that is up to you. But then again it is hard to forgive an IP when I'm not sure what it has done or not. But as I could just see there where nothing needing forgiveness so we are good. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:15, 3 January 2022 (UTC)

== Do you get a healthy amount of sleep? ==
In recent days I see you editing very often and I just wanna make sure you get enough sleep because while you're doing amazing work, I am a bit concerned [[User:256.256.256.256|256.256.256.256]] ([[User talk:256.256.256.256|talk]]) 08:45, 6 January 2022 (UTC)
:Ha ha - thanks for both the concern and the praise. I'm from Denmark so if you look at the time stamp and think I should be sleeping, then maybe it is in the middle of the day here. I write this just before 10:00 AM here in DK. But actually I'm doing very little now compared to maybe five years ago. If you look at the [[Special:ContributionScores|ContributionScores]] at the bottom with the All time (Top 50), you will see that I'm number two. And if you look at number of changes I'm far ahead of number 2... So this is actually quite low level activity for me... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:53, 6 January 2022 (UTC)

==[[Countdown in header text]] image ==
You mentioned you'd help uploading the countdown wiggle gif, so [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown here]'s a link to all the image stuff of the countdown. (Specifically, [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/full_animation.gif full_animation.gif] and [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown/Countdown%20in%20header%20text%20Wiggling.gif Countdown in header text Wiggling.gif]).
Optionally [https://tobot.dev/files/xkcd-countdown.zip zipped], for easier archival. [[User:Toby|Toby]] ([[User talk:Toby|talk]]) 20:03, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
:Great thanks Toby. Will try to make it work. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 31 January 2022 (UTC)
::It worked and I have replied on your new talk page and created your own page, in case you still could not. Feel free to change that now. Very happy with your work, both of the files. Thanks!!! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:28, 31 January 2022 (UTC)

== Purely to improve your knowledge of English ==

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spacecrafts#English

i.e., as with vehicular "craft" in general (including aircraft, hovercraft, etc), the -s pluralisation is allowable but not considered standard. An oddity of the terminology that I don't actually know the reason for. I'm wondering could it be from our nautical heritage where singular craft were the rarity (a simpler version of how [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aderyn sometimes the singular can be considered rarer than the plural]? Yet ships/vessels/etc don't succumb to that usage. Even if sheep and fish do! Anyway, while spacecraft are preferred, spaceships are indeed the synonymous alternative. IYSWIM...

Crafts, as in skillfully created works, ''are'' the plurals exactly as you'd initially expect. Woodcrafts, metalcrafts, etc. So I suppose those people who are shipcrafters might therefore craft many crafted craft, thanks to the various crafts they know, and then exhibit their crafts at a craft-fair. ((i.e "Boatwrights might construct many well-made (model?) ships, thanks to their skills, then show their creations at an exhibition of bespoke manufacturing.")) Crafty, eh?

Sorry, I seem to have gone overboard with the explanation. Throw me that lifebelt, please? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.73|172.70.85.73]] 10:40, 10 February 2022 (UTC)
:Hi. Thanks. I'm not sure it will help, I'm not very good at spelling, even in my own language. But maybe I will remember this. I do not mind other people copy editing my posts. My idea is that if I write something useful other will make it better, and correct the errors. But if I do not write it, then it may be left out of an explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:54, 13 February 2022 (UTC)

== THANK YOU!!! ==
Kynde - I have only just discovered this beautiful Explain XKCD wiki and am in awe - I saw that you have been a huge contribuotr for years and just wanted to say Thank You to you and team for this beautiful legacy of work! With it XKCD can be that much more of a portal into all the different directions Randall’s comics touch on and drift near.

I’ve been behind the scenes in wikipedia for years (so often painful) and love connecting with anyone else who is doing meaningful wiki work. I’m just stopping by here today on my way to *important deadlines* but intend to be back. Just set up my Explain editor account. Pop me a talk page note? Happy to plug in! [[User:DrMel|DrMel]] ([[User talk:DrMel|talk]]) 19:53, 20 March 2022 (UTC)

(Ps looks like I am not getting through the email validation steps - no email confirmation has yet made it to my email. I’ll check back later. On wikipedia I’m https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:DrMel

(pps - email validated! But i still dont have permission to setup my user page… so this time i really am going back to the Save-The-World work i am supposed to be doing!)
:Hi [[User:DrMel|DrMel]]. Wow, thanks a lot. Yes I have been very active on this page. I'm not one of the admins though, and sadly it seems this page is without any active admins, and that it has been so for a while. I guess I'm the best option right now. I have created your user page and talk page, so now you can work on the user page. Welcome to explain xkcd. If you have any questions regarding format or other things feel free to ask. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:38, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

== Nomination ==
I know you maybe don't want it, but see [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Coordination#New_admins]] '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:08, 8 May 2022 (UTC)
:I have answered there and accepted the nomination. It is an honor. Hope I can live up to it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:16, 10 May 2022 (UTC)
::Finally got the promotion from Jeff. Thanks. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:30, 23 May 2022 (UTC)

== Block User:Donald Trump ==

Can you block [[User:Donald Trump]]? He is another spambot, like the others recently: [[Special:Contributions/Donald_Trump]]. Thanks, [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 17:48, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:Done--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:28, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

== you blocked a mobile phone (T-mobile) IP ==

You blocked “162.158.107.124”. The problem is, that’s a T-mobile IP that goes to whomever happens to get it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.36|172.70.211.36]] 19:11, 26 May 2022 (UTC)
:Yes Im new to being administrator so sorry I messed that up. But think I [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:Contributions/162.158.107.124 managed to undo it]? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:33, 26 May 2022 (UTC)

== Regarding your latest IP block ==

See [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:While_False&oldid=286101#Concision_and_clarity my note on this latest thing] that it seems like you were reacting to.
 In general, I don't think IP-blocking is very useful (false-positives get hit and false-negatives get round it, depending upon the vagueries of everything, and as an IP myself this is close to the bone for me) but there's potentially something going on. I don't know if you get to see what ''doesn't'' happen because of a block, though. Tricky one to get your head round. But thought I'd clue you in on what I'm thinking. Completely your decision on how you take it.
 Keep up the good work, BTW! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.15|162.158.159.15]] 12:59, 3 June 2022 (UTC)
:Just to add that [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=957:_Development&curid=4423&diff=286104&oldid=283524 this change] follows the trend I mentioned (type of edit + history of its apparent IP), and now undone. Not to overly pester you with this (better the Community Portal for that), just FYI. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.11|141.101.98.11]] 17:05, 3 June 2022 (UTC)
::I only block them for a week or 3 days, just to stop current spam, and thanks for the praise --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:02, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

== Sparing use of Talk-page section headers ==

Note that I added a ;-title (not an individually editable section's title), albeit first mis-tapping in the :-indenter instead by accident, but maybe you were a bit overzealous squishing out the ==editable== section-headers (the existing one and my own once someone had helpfully 'upgraded' it) in the latest discussion.

The advice given on the main-page, as part of the discussion-inclusion templating, is that new sections should be used ''sparingly'', not that they are not to be used. If anything, I was wrong to use a ;-title (to logically separate my contribution from the headered bit I was following), perhaps I should have inserted as a normal running comment above the newly broken-out section.

Not complaining, but just positing the view that it seemed a bit draconic of an intervention. Livable-with, having been done, but not sure it was strictly necessary.

(Would be handy to add across the "Add to the bottom (etc)" HTML-comment to the top of the page, from a BOT-created new-discussion-page, though I suppose I could do that. Maybe I will. Yes, I think I will. You could also maybe check the circumstances why a normal user had needed to do theusafBOT's work for it... I'm sure it's more that theusaf's script is just temporarily offline, or slow to react, rather than having gone the way of dgbrtBOT/whatever...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 13:49, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
:I think there is now use for headings in comment section. And in some cases the explanations have a TOC and then the headings of the talk page would come into this because we include talk page on the explanation page. Also it becomes confusing when others add different comments below, as they then seems to belong to the headered section. Thus best leave them out, unless something very special. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:55, 15 June 2022 (UTC)

== Table of tips? ==
Why put the table in a section on [[2649]]? It breaks the convention of discussing the comic before discussing the title text. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.145|172.70.210.145]] 07:11, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
:No this has been done whenever there is a table. The comic should be explained first, but if lots of info needs to be added in order to understand the full details of the comic, then the title text is usually explained after the first short explanation. And then the larger explanation is delegated to a sub section, just as I have done here. It is because you may not wish to dwell into all these details, they are not needed to understand the overall joke, but you might like to see the title text explained, and then this should not be hidden deep down. Also there is a link from the explanation to the table, so you can easily go there to read the main explanation for each tip.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:32, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
::Well it's no big deal; I don't have strong feelings about it, but I haven't been here very long, and noticed that [[2636]], [[2638]], and [[2639]] all have tables following the sequence of the comics instead of in a section at the end. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 08:39, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
:::Yes that must also be said to be new comics, and not those that have been here long time ;-) All of them came out after my holiday began this summer, and I have not had time to go through those comics yet. But thanks I will fix it. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:21, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
::::Fixed those three and also completed two of the transcripts. Thanks for pointing the discrepancy out. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:02, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

How do you feel about [[2606]]? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.173|172.71.150.173]] 08:32, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
:Since the title text is just another symbol, it seems fine to have it in the table. But actually there may be a reason to explain that joke as well in the main explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:35, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
::But after updating the explanation I ended up moving the table to a section and moving any other explanation above. Including a mention of the title text. Is this the same person that started this thread that asked about 2606? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:56, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
:::No, I'm [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2207:_Math_Work&diff=291019&oldid=282989 this guy.] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 15:52, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
::::Hello, That Guy. (BTW, I'm also none of the above conversationalists, Kynde...) That change you linked... I just reverted it. It was fixed (devandalised) already in a state that was after the removal of the Incomplete tag and I couldn't work out ''why'' you considered it needing reverting. Yes, a lot of restored stuff (now unrestored), but I couldn't quite work out which (pre-vandalism) version you even reverted to, and surely there were various useful culling edits ("no, we don't need to say that, it's irrelevent", etc) that you were negating.
::::Or at least that was my almost knee-jerk response (almost, because I went back through the crapcrapcrap stuff and beyond trying to find where you were coming from, so I spent some time on thinking about it before I did it).
::::I offer it up to review by the wider community, or back to yourself (or give Kynde a shot, if they aren't busy). Maybe some old bits could be reintegrated, but I couldn't see which on a semi-cursory glance. So, given you have provided a handle on you, expanding upon the woefully short edit-summary space, to more fully explain any confusion (of mine, or yours, or just in general). Ok? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 16:43, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
:::::Are you saying you removed vandalism with the revert? Which parts do you think are crap stuff? Do you not see how it is all directly related to the drawing on the board? I should have removed the incomplete tag, but I think I'll try the appended section idea to appease objectors with a compromise. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.185|172.69.33.185]] 05:15, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
::::::I don't think this has anything to do with my comment, and I do not have any thing to add to this discussion. If this is all about [[2207:_Math_Work]], then please take any further [[Talk:2207:_Math_Work#Deletions|discussion there]], as to not disturb me with e-mails every time you change my user talk page ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:07, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

== A spammer has appeared! ==

Hi! It seems that there's a spammer who's been consistently adding an incredibly odd rant from a wide variety of IP addresses over the course of yesterday and today. They currently show no signs of stopping; could you use whatever Special Admin Powers you may have to resolve the issue? --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 18:37, 30 July 2022 (UTC)

2652: Proxy Variable

2022-07-30T18:27:03Z

Account: Undo revision 291422 by 172.71.142.177 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2652
| date = July 29, 2022
| title = Proxy Variable
| image = proxy_variable.png
| titletext = Our work has produced great answers. Now someone just needs to figure out which questions they go with.
}}

__NOTOC__

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PROXY BOT IN NO WAY RELATED WITH THE ORIGINAL BOT, SO MARRIAGE WOULD BE ETHICALLY AND LEGALLY ACCEPTABLE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Hairy]] is discussing use of a proxy variable with [[Cueball]]. In statistics, a {{w|proxy variable}} is used as a stand-in for one or more other variables that are difficult to measure. In order to be useful as such, proxy variables must be correlated with what they are intended to represent. For example, a drug might aim to reduce deaths from a slow-acting disease. But testing if it reduces deaths might take many years, so researchers might test for a proxy outcome instead, like whether it results in loss of bone density or damage to cells. Physicians use blood pressure as one of many proxies of cardiovascular health.

Proxy variables are of interest to non-scientists as they provide a way to indirectly monitor or improve the complex systems that affect their lives. For example, people use local temperature as a rough experiential proxy for the severity of global warming.

Hairy is dismissing the question of whether they are studying the right variable as too expensive to answer. This is deeply ironic and thus satirical, because good {{w|experiment design}} requires sufficient attention to the robustness of all the involved parts of an experiment, even if the expense may be prohibitive. The history of pharmaceutical research is largely a graveyard of failed proxy hypotheses.

Choosing the wrong proxy variable might make the research misleading, irrelevant, or as the title text suggests, answer the wrong question. Separating correlation from {{w|Causality|causation}} is necessary when interpreting proxy variable results to make sure the question they answer is known. Mere correlation instead of {{w|Causal analysis|authentic causation}} yields weaker results. {{w|Exploratory causal analysis}} can assist with finding useful proxy variables, but is difficult for the layperson to interpret and can be misleading, because even if performed correctly, a {{w|combinatoric explosion}} of possible proxy variables can make traditional {{w|significance level}} analysis fail, requiring {{w|F-score}}s or similar measures.

The title text's notion of having an answer without knowing the actual question could also be be a reference to the classic comedy science fiction novel {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}, where in one scene Earth turns out to be a supercomputer built for the purpose of figuring out the question for the answer "42."

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Hairy uses a pointer to show Cueball a poster of a line chart above a candlestick chart. The drawing appears to show a time series with a question mark for future extrapolation, and a box-and-whiskers plot comparing two variables.]
:Hairy: We want to study this variable, but it's too hard to observe.

:[Cut the panel in half so you can only see Hairy and the poster.]
:Hairy: So we're studying this proxy variable.

:[Cueball and Hairy are standing with the poster out of frame.]
:Cueball: Is it correlated with the other variable?
:Hairy: Look, we don't have the funding to answer every little question.

{{comic discussion}}

2652: Proxy Variable

2022-07-30T05:54:21Z

Account: Undo revision 291342 by 162.158.106.51 (talk)

2652: Proxy Variable

2022-07-30T03:43:42Z

Account: Undo revision 291195 by 172.71.142.39 (talk) https://r.mtdv.me/pOBSeaQ8av

{{comic
| number = 1337
| date = July 29, 2022
| title = Proxy Variable
| image = proxy_variable.png
| titletext = Our work has produced great answers. Now someone just needs to figure out which questions they go with.
}}

__NOTOC__

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PROXY BOT IN NO WAY CORRELATED WITH THE ORIGINAL BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Hairy is showing Cueball a poster of a graph]
:Hairy: We want to study this variable, but it's too hard to observe.

:[Cut the panel in half so you can only see Hairy and the poster]
:Hairy: So we're studying this proxy variable.

:[Cueball and Hairy are standing with the poster out of frame]
:Cueball: Is it correlated with the other variable?
:Hairy: Look, we don't have the funding to answer every little question.

{{comic discussion}}

2652: Proxy Variable

2022-07-30T03:37:42Z

Account: Undo revision 291186 by 172.71.142.39 (talk) go back to /pol/

2652: Proxy Variable

2022-07-30T03:24:19Z

Account: Undo revision 291174 by 172.71.142.75 (talk) No

2651: Air Gap

2022-07-28T03:38:59Z

Account: /* Why this would be inefficient */ "The vast majority of solar panels are made of materials that convert primarily visible light." https://www.thinkepic.com/solar/can-solar-panels-use-ultraviolet-or-infrared-light/ if you want a citation.

{{comic
| number = 2651
| date = July 27, 2022
| title = Air Gap
| image = air_gap.png
| titletext = You can still do powerline networking, but the bitrate does drop a little depending on the lightbulb warmup and cooldown delay.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It's possible to send data through a power supply. Randall suggests "air gapping" your entire home power supply for security by using a lightbulb to power a solar panel, so there is no physical wired connection between your power supply and device. This is not a normal vector for computer virus infection, and would be very inefficient.
==Why this would be inefficient==
Solar panels are less than 100% efficient - in fact, they generally have an efficiency far below 50%. Lightbulbs are also inefficient at converting energy into light-- for example, a standard incandescent lightbulb like the one shown in the comic would convert only about 5% of its energy into visible light, with the rest emitted as heat and unusable infrared light. Therefore, only a small fraction of energy would be transmitted between the two ends of the air gap, making the circuit require much more electricity and be much less cost-efficient.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[a solar panel and a lamp are pictured together, with the lamp pointed at the solar panel]
:[Caption] Security tip: Increase the security of your home power supply by installing an air gap.
{{comic discussion}}

2614: 2

2022-07-02T21:40:34Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Deleting some stale incomplete tags. All elements have been given explanation and examples.

<noinclude>:''This page refers to the comic named "2". For comic #2, see [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 2614
| date = May 2, 2022
| title = 2
| image = 2.png
| titletext = It's like sigma summation notation, except instead of summing the argument over all values of i, you 2 the argument over all values of 2.
}}

==Explanation==

This demonstrates the different ways in which the number 2 can be typeset in various scientific fields. While these ways of typesetting are used with any number, using the number 2 in this instance provides a clear illustration how adding numbers can significantly alter a feature of a concept (such as the number of electrons in an atom) or perform a mathematical operation on it (such as raising a value to its second power).

The dotted box represents any character (a number, letter, or bigram of letters, as appropriate to the various signifiers). All the other notation consists only of the digit 2, with occasional additional punctuation, in various locations in relation to this character. Each of these is labelled as to what its 'purpose' might normally be with respect to the general term:
;Regular Math
:Precedes the term. "2x" indicates two times the value of ''x'' in normal {{w|algebra|algebraic}} use that should be familiar for many people.
;Physics
:A preceding superscript. "2H" would indicate the particular {{w|isotope}} of hydrogen with the atomic weight of two, namely deuterium, which is most often encountered when working with the atomic level of matter where the total number of neutrons and protons in the atom is important. It can also represent {{w|tetration}}, which is iterated exponentiation.
;Chemical Physics
:A preceding subscript, as in "2He", indicates the atomic number of an atom, which is the number of protons it contains. It is thus a guide to the number of electrons its unionised form usually has and hence is meaningful for its potential chemical interactions with other atoms. This number of protons should be invariant for any particular named element, but is usually given simultaneously with the presuperscripted mass number for which it can indicate the applicable nuclear physics. {{w|Chemical physics}} is a subdiscipline of physics and chemistry. It can also represent {{w|pentation}}, which is iterated tetration.
;Regular Math or Footnotes
:A trailing superscript is typical of a {{w|Exponentiation|power value}}; in this case "x²" would be ''x'' multiplied by itself - a common mathematical standard.
:Additionally, superscripted numbers are one common way to mark words in a line of text in a way to refer to a {{w|Note (typography)|footnote}}{{fact}}, typically placed at the bottom of the page and containing additional information that would distract from the main text itself. The ambiguity between footnotes and exponents was used in [[1184: Circumference Formula]].
;Chemistry
:A trailing subscript is used in chemistry to indicate a multiple of the element (or group of elements, in brackets) in a {{w|chemical formula}}. "H2O" indicates two hydrogen atoms bond with a single oxygen atom in a molecule of water.
;Matrices! ("2,2")
:Extending the trailing subscript with a comma-separated value usually indicates a multidimensional array (e.g., establishing a 2-by-2 square of numbers, or this particular position in such an array), which is in the realm of {{w|Matrix (mathematics)|matrix mathematics}}. This is a little bit beyond 'everyday algebra' for many people, as seemingly indicated by the exclamation of the mere mention of matrices.
;The Physicists Are At It Again ("2;2")
:This label encompasses a mark that turns the prior comma into a semicolon, as part of the trailing subscript. This is a common notation for the {{w|Covariant derivative}} of a tensor field, which is commonly used in the mathematics of general relativity.
;Either High School Math Function or Incomprehensible Group Theory
:The number 2 in parentheses that follow a term would normally be the argument to a {{w|Function (mathematics)|function}}. For example, "f(2)" means that you should take the value 2, and find the result if manipulated by the predefined function ''f''. It is generally taught as part of algebraic mathematics in {{w|Secondary school|high school}}.
:In {{w|group theory}}, however, the number 2 in parentheses could indicate a special kind of group, such as an an element of a symmetry group that keeps 2 fixed, or some kind of group of 2x2 matrices. For instance, {{w|SU(2)}} is a 3-dimensional {{w|Lie group}} of {{w|unitary matrices}}. These concepts are taught in graduate or advanced undergraduate mathematics courses.
;Oh no. Whatever this is, it's cursed.
:A symbol centered underneath another larger symbol is normally reserved for doing summations or products, where the big symbol is Σ or Π, or some other operation applied to a sequence of numbers. It does not make sense to have a single number on top of a smaller one. As with [[2529: Unsolved Math Problems|other things]] where something appears to have gone wrong in Randall's comic universe, the explanation for this particular anomaly is that it is 'Cursed'.
:Two {{w|natural number}}s may be stacked directly on top of one another in parentheses as {{w|binomial coefficient}}s: ( <table style="display: inline-table; line-height: 0.6em; vertical-align: middle; font-size:7pt; text-size-adjust: none;"><tr><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>2</td></tr></table>), but those are always the same size, denoting a {{w|combination}}. In this case, ''2 choose 2'' is equal to one combination.
:The usage mentioned in the alt text is an operation (e.g. Σ for summation) over a variable, usually indicated by a letter such as i, where the operation is performed over all values of the variable (i.e., you Σ (sum) the argument over all values of i). In the "2" case, the alt text says "you 2 the argument over all values of 2" (i.e., the Σ operation has been replaced by the "2" operation and the i variable has been replaced by the "2" variable). 2 is usually not an operation, though the definition of 2 under {{w|Church_encoding#Church_numerals|Church encoding}} is a function that takes in and produces functions. 2 applied to 2 in the church encoding is 4. However, the title text implies that 2 is treated like a variable,which it is not (and it's definitely not a operator and variable at the same time).
: Things being cursed is a common trope within recent xkcd comics, which have mentioned items including [[2332:_Cursed_Chair|Cursed chairs]] and [[:Category:Cursed_Connectors|cursed connectors]]. This notation is one of the few occasions where the supernatural has demonstrable implications for science and mathematics for those foolhardy enough to use it.

==Transcript==
:[An apparent generalisation of a scientific expression consisting of a dotted rectangular 'box' outline, left empty, and various commonly-themed symbology around it:]

:[as normal text, to the left of all the rest:] 2
:[superscript to the immediate left of the box:] 2
:[subscript also to the immediate left of the box:] 2
:[superscript to the immediate right of the box:] 2
:[subscript also to the immediate right of the box:] 2;2 [i.e. separated by a semicolon]
:[as normal text, to the right of almost all the rest:] (2) [i.e. enclosed in standard parentheses]
:[smaller subscript, centered immediately beneath the 2 within the parentheses:] 2

:[Further details are drawn in grey tone, around or near various of the elements of the expression:]
;[Captions above the numbers]
:[with an arrow pointing to the leftmost 2:] Regular Math
:[with an arrow pointing to the leftwards superscript 2:] Physics
:[with an arrow pointing to the rightwards superscript 2:] Regular math or footnotes
:[with an arrow pointing to the parenthetical 2 at the right:] Either high school math functions or incomprehensible group theory

;[Captions below the numbers]
:[with an arrow pointing to the leftwards subscript 2:] Chemical Physics
:[with an arrow pointing to just the rightwards subscript 2:] Chemistry
:[with an arrow pointing to a distorted grey ring snaking around only the comma of the semicolon and the following 2 of the rightmost subscript:] Matrices!
:[with an arrow pointing to a larger grey ring that passes fully around the whole semicolon and final 2 of the rightmost subscript:] The physicists are at it again
:[with an arrow pointing to the small 2 placed below the parenthetical 2:] Oh no. Whatever this is, it's cursed.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Comics featuring cursed items]]

2612: Lightsabers

2022-07-02T21:31:40Z

Account: Somebody deleted the ==Explanation==

<noinclude>''For the comic named "Lightsaber", see [[1433: Lightsaber]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 2612
| date = April 27, 2022
| title = Lightsabers
| image = lightsabers.png
| titletext = A lot of Jedi romances start with this turning into a Lady and the Tramp spaghetti situation.}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|lightsaber}} is a fictional beam-like sword weapon used by members of the {{w|Jedi}} order and the {{w|Sith}} in the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' franchise. This comic shows a lightsaber fight starting between two [[Cueball]]-like Jedi, one already presenting their blade in challenge and the second activating theirs in response. When the first strike is made between the two lightsabers, they meld together with a bloop sound, like the beams are made of a liquid. The two light beams then remain stuck to each other. In in-universe "technical documents", lightsabers are said to be made from magnetically-confined plasma, so perhaps the magnetic fields which were projected from each hilt have merged instead of repelling (or presenting as mutually impervious) as is usually expected.

(This scene actually looks a lot like what happens between Harry Potter and Voldemort's wands in the end of the fourth book, the {{w|Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire|''Goblet of Fire''}}. Here two spells hit each other and connect the two wands, the wand holders then unable to release or disconnect the wands.)

First the left Jedi, then the right, shakes the hilt, trying to break the bond. When this does not succeed, the right Jedi then deactivates his lightsaber in an attempt to end the connection. This causes the retraction of the entire double-sized light beam into the handles (as seen in the movies), causing both of the Jedi to be drawn together until their heads bonk, forcefully enough to render them both unconscious. The connected lightsaber handles lie next to them on the ground.

The title text implies that such events are how {{w|Jedi}} romances start, comparing it to the famous "spaghetti scene" from the 1955 Disney animated movie ''{{w|Lady and the Tramp}}'' where the two titular characters unintentionally kiss after sharing a strand of spaghetti. In the Old Republic, Jedi were forbidden from entering into romantic relationships (and discouraged from forming attachments in general), but in the pre-Disney ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity of the {{w|Star Wars in other media|Expanded Universe}}, {{w|Luke Skywalker}} and {{w|Mara Jade}} first met while fighting in the aftermath of the fall of the Empire, and then developed a romantic relationship.

Star Wars is a [[:Category:Star Wars|recurring theme]] on xkcd, and lightsabers have been prominently featured before in, for instance, [[1397: Luke]] and [[1433: Lightsaber]], where the problem with the physics of a light beam as a sword is shown. But in general light does not interact with light as {{w|photons}} are {{w|bosons}} and can thus pass through each other. Interference, yes, but two pure light beams cannot collide and bounce back as when two lightsabers collide. Also as the comic Lightsaber mentioned above shows, there is no compatible real-world way of confining a beam of light, making it stop after about a meter (or anywhere){{Dubious}} - see {{w|Optical cavity}}.

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueball like Jedi are engaging each other in a duel using lightsabers over 12 panels of equal size, with sound effects as the only sound. In the first panel the left Jedi has his lightsaber extended holding it in both hand pointing towards the other, who at this time is just turning his lightsaber on.]
:''Tssssss''
:Click

:[Almost same position of the Jedi, but the right Jedi's lightsaber has now extended, making a sound. He is holding it up near his head in both hands]
:''Tsss''

:[Then they run towards each other and swing their lightsabers towards each other, two small arcs indicating the swing of the lightsabers.]

:[The two beams hit each other and connects at the middle in a big bloop of light, with drops of "light" jumping off both above and below the connected lightsabers. Both Jedi still holds on to their handles with both hands. A loud sound comes out of the connection:]
:''Bloop''

:[The Jedi stands still holding their handles. The beam is now forming a bow between the two handles.]

:[The left Jedi violently shakes his handle causing a wave to travel down the beam towards the right Jedi.]
:Shake shake

:[The right Jedi shakes his handle and well and another wave travels the opposite direction towards the left Jedi.]
:Shake shake

:[Back to the bow of light between them, but the beam is visibly still shaking, but no wave is traveling any longer.]

:[Same setting but the shaking has stopped. The right Jedi turns his lightsaber off on his handle with a sound:]
:Click

:[The beam of light is retracted quickly into the handle of the Jedi turning his lightsaber off. So quickly that the two Jedi, still holding on to their handles are pulled up in the air and towards each other as the sound of the beam turning off is heard. Lines indicate their movement and shadows on the ground beneath them indicate they are in the air.]
:''Zhhhiiiip''

:[When the beam is completely retracted the two handles collide and so do the heads of the two Jedi with a loud sound. They still hold on to their handles with both hands. They still hang in the air with shadows on the ground beneath them.]
:''Bonk''

:[In the final panel the two Jedi lie unconscious on the ground with their heads towards each other and with their arms stretched out towards each other. The connected handles lie between them.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

2610: Assigning Numbers

2022-07-02T21:29:43Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2610
| date = April 22, 2022
| title = Assigning Numbers
| image = assigning_numbers.png
| titletext = Gödel should do an article on which branches of math have the lowest average theorem number.
}}

==Explanation==

'''This explanation is by mathematical necessity either incomplete or incorrect.'''

[[Cueball]] is falling into a common trap, because a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Faced with some sort of information, of an unknown kind but seemingly not intrinsically mathematical in nature, he has decided that one possible way to proceed is to somehow translate everything into values which can be combined and compared numerically.

This is a very common thing to do, in fields as diverse as {{w|computational linguistics}} or {{w|sports analytics}}, and can be a powerful tool for understanding and learning new things about a subject as {{w|Data science}} tries to extract knowledge and insights from potentially noisy and disordered facts. But it is also used to implement bad science by using incorrect or misguided ideas about how to represent the source material. While it's possible to casually assign numeric values to random pieces of data, these numbers are generally not meaningful enough to compute with and draw any useful inferences from. It is generally possible to perform statistical analysis only on actual measurements, not on what may effectively be arbitrarily-assigned values.

Machine learning algorithms, which are commonly used by data scientists, typically require all their inputs to be numerical. However, most datasets contains categorical features (e.g. the description of a piece of furniture: chair, table, ...). Data scientists therefore use encoding techniques to convert these categorical features to a numerical form so they can be used as inputs to a machine learning model. For instance, label encoding consists of arbitrarily assigning an integer to a category (chair=0, table=1, ...) which may appear meaningless to most observers. In various cases, they may be right.

So, as well as being the mechanism that underlies one of the most profound theorems of 20th century mathematics, it can be mis-used for all kinds of bad or misguided science. From Cueball's attitude, it is far from clear that his attempt will reliably translate his project into a numerical system, nor that his attempt to "do math on it!" will be any more competent.

One of the major characters who looked at the concept is Kurt Gödel. He introduced the idea of {{w|Gödel numbering}} with his landmark {{w|incompleteness theorems}}. In it a unique natural number is assigned to each axiom, statement, and proof, which might otherwise be difficult to accurately process in any other kind of approach. Instead, it is now possible to create metamathematical statements in the language of mathematics.

This allowed Gödel to make the statement "This statement cannot be proven based on the axioms provided" in a mathematically rigorous way. A simple proof by contradiction shows that the statement cannot be false, and therefore (in most logical systems) must be true. The proof goes as follows: 1. Assume that "This statement cannot be proven from the axioms" (Call this statement G) is false.<ref>Call this assumption A.</ref> 2. Therefore G can be proven from the axioms.<ref>Because the negation of the negation is an affirmation. Based only on A.</ref> 3. The axioms exist.<ref>Call this assumption B</ref> 4. Therefore, G is true.<ref>via {{w|Modus ponens}} applied to 2 and 3, based on A and B</ref> 5. Therefore, G and also not G.<ref>via {{w|Conjunction introduction}} applied to 1 and 4, based on A and B</ref> 6. This is a contradiction, and therefore A (that is, 'not G') or B (ZFC) must be wrong. We are not willing to sacrifice assumption B, so we must conclude that A is false, given B.<ref>{{w|Reductio ad absurdum}} applied to 1,3, and 5</ref> 7. Therefore, G.

===Explanatory footnotes for the above===
<references />

Notice that the truth of Gödel's statement does not depend on any particular set of axioms, and adding axioms (such as "Gödel's particular statement is true") only opens up new iterations of the statement which cannot be proven based on the expanded set of axioms (A statement such as "All statements of a similar nature to Gödel's particular statement" is not precise enough to serve as an axiom.). As such, with a little more legwork, it can be proven that any logical system robust enough to accommodate arithmetic must necessarily contain facts that are true within the system but cannot be proven or disproven within the system. The importance of this result cannot be understated, as it upended the entire philosophy of mathematics. {{w|David Hilbert}}'s famous proclamation "We must know, we will know" is simply incorrect. ... Either that, or (ironically) Gödel used an "inconsistent" or "incomplete" system to produce his result.

The title text suggests that Gödel should perform such an analysis on different branches of mathematics, by calculating the average of all the fields' theorems' Gödel numbers. This is nonsensical for a number of reasons:
:1) Gödel is long dead, and dead people can't write articles;{{Dubious}} - see [[599: Apocalypse]]
:2) Gödel numbers grow very large very quickly, and depend heavily on the specific values assigned to each logical operator. Therefore the results could be manipulated simply by changing the numbering order of each operator;
:3) It may be very hard to gather all theorems in a field, or even a representative sample;
:4) Different fields of science, like biology or human behaviour, may not be able to write their theorems in the mathematical language of Gödel's incompleteness theorem
If anyone were to attempt this form of analysis, it would be an example of the bad data science described in the caption.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holds a hand up to his chin while he ponders the contents of what may be a whiteboard. There are five general lines of unreadable scribbling on the board, and between the two bottom lines, there is a square frame to the right with another scribble to the left. Cueball's thoughts are shown above him in a large thought bubble.]
:Cueball's thinking: If I assign numbers to each of these things, then it becomes '''''data''''', and I can do '''''math''''' on it!

:[Caption beneath the panel:]
:The same basic idea underlies Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem and all bad data science.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Logic]]

2608: Family Reunion

2022-07-02T21:28:53Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2608
| date = April 18, 2022
| title = Family Reunion
| image = family_reunion.png
| titletext = Grandma says that because of differences in primate and feline lifespans, the cat is actually my 17,000,000th cousin 14,000,000 times removed.
}}

==Explanation==

Because all humans are descended from a {{w|Mitochondrial Eve|common ancestor}}, every human is, at some point, related to every other human, albeit distantly. Similarly, all life forms on Earth are presumed (with good reasons) to be descended from a single {{w|Most recent common ancestor|even more distant relative}} whose ultimate lineage {{w|Last universal common ancestor|became more relevant}} than any from its own 'cousins' at the time, and thus ''all'' life forms are distantly related. This makes every interaction with another life-form, technically, a family reunion, if not in the traditional sense.

The general English definition of a {{w|cousin}}, which is a person sharing an ancestor who is not a direct parent of either party, can be qualified by two numbers. There is the ''n''th-ness of the relationship (the fewest generations you need to go beyond one's parentage, "a first cousin" implies that a grandparent is the key link) - for example, [[Cueball|this Cueball's]] relation to [[White Hat]] is via a great-grandparent, whilst that with [[Hairbun]] is through a great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparent. A "removed" number is any difference in this number between the two individuals, such that a child of a direct cousin invokes a "once removed" relationship between the two (without individually qualifying who is the 'senior' generation, from whom the 'nth' count is determined). You would normally only qualify "first cousin" if this fact is considered important, and "zero times removed" would also be considered implicit.

As pointed out in the title text, cat lifespans (or, more importantly, inter-generational breeding cycles) are somewhat different from those of humans. Although they would have still been very similar immediately after the divergence from the appropriate most recent common ancestor (MRCA), the differences will have built up to a generational-count displacement of a similarly extreme nature. i.e. that while the shared ancestor is Cueball's 17-million-or-so-Great Grandparent, the cat is in turn the 31-million-or-so-Great Grandchild. Exactly how accurate, or even precise, Randall considers these numbers is unknown, but it is the kind of fact that we know he likes to research and use expert opinion for.

According to [https://www.quora.com/How-many-generations-of-human-beings-recognizably-the-same-as-us-have-there-been this Quora page], there have been about 13,000 generations of modern humans, so the people at this party would be quite closely related, all things considered.

[https://www.evogeneao.com/en/learn/tree-of-life The Evogeneao Tree of Life diagram] indicates that humans and cats diverged around 90 million years ago and humans and plants diverged around 1.8 billion years ago.

If we presume that generations of humans (including proto-humans, pre-humans, etc) since the divergence from cathood (including proto-cats, pre-cats, and the rest, back to the common ancestral form) have averaged around 5 years, then a 17 millionth cousin may be about right. Many of our (and cats') early ancestors will have necessarily been small burrowing mammals — to have been amongst the ones who survived the asteroid around 66 million years ago that killed off most of the dinosaurs — with contemporary equivalents having breeding cycles in terms of a year at the most. But we currently have a large feasible range of generational cycle (15-50 years, ''very'' roughly, with or without technical/social help or hinderances), that may have started to drag our long-term average upwards since at least the age of the early hominids, if not the age of our primate forebears or earlier.

To get a 50 billionth cousin from the potted plant, then the generations of (eventually) humans since we were of the same form as that time's ancestral plants (or vice-versa) would need to average two weeks. This is possible, but difficult to be precise about due to the lack of much of the required evidence in the known fossilized remains. Any reasonable estimate, however, should be heavily weighted towards generation spans common for unicellular eukaryotes, rather than the longer generations common for multicellular eukaryotes: the general consensus on the most recent common ancestor for of animals and plants identifies it as a unicellular eukaryote.
Given the above analysis of eukaryotes as cousins one wonders why Randal Monroe didn't include that every lack of gathering is also a family reunion.

==Transcript==
:[Megan, White Hat, Cueball, Hairy, Danish, a white cat with black patches on its back, Hairbun, a chair with a half-full wine-glass on the seat, and a potted plant on a cabinet are "standing" in a line. White Hat is holding a glass and Hairy has his hands to the side in a "shrug" position. Megan and Cueball are facing right and everything/one else is facing left (except for the potted plant, which is not facing any direction). There are arrows pointing to each of the living creatures.]

:14th cousin [Megan]
:2nd cousin [White Hat]
:Me [Cueball]
:12th cousin [Hairy]
:35th cousin [Danish]
:17,000,000th cousin [cat]
:9th cousin [Hairbun]
:50,000,000,000th cousin [potted plant]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Really, ''every'' gathering is a family reunion.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Cats]]
[[Category:Biology]]

2606: Weird Unicode Math Symbols

2022-07-02T21:27:08Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2606
| date = April 13, 2022
| title = Weird Unicode Math Symbols
| image = weird_unicode_math_symbols.png
| titletext = U+2A0B ⨋ Mathematicians need to calm down
}}

==Explanation==

This comic proposes joke explanations for various {{w|unicode symbols}} with obscure or no known uses.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Symbols
|-
! Codepoint !! Symbol !! Unicode Name !! Actual use !! Randall's meaning || Explanation
|-
| U+29CD || ⧍ || Triangle with Serifs At Bottom || No known mathematics use, but resembles the {{w|National Park Service}} cartographic symbol for a campsite.[https://github.com/nationalparkservice/symbol-library/] || Shark || May look like a shark fin sticking out of the water.
|-
| U+23E7 || ⏧ || Electrical Intersection || Indicates where wires branch off || Traffic circle || Looks like a diagram of a {{w|roundabout}} as might be shown on a minimap beside a routing direction.
|-
| U+2A33 || ⨳ || {{w|Smash product}} || The quotient of the underlying spaces of two {{w|pointed space}}s, where points in the {{w|product spaces}} are identified if they contain either labeled point as an element. || Hashtag || Looks somewhat like the {{w|Number sign|hash}} symbol (#) – commonly used for indicating tags called {{w|hashtag}}s in social media – turned by 45 degrees.
|-
| U+2A7C || ⩼ || Greater-Than with Question Mark Above || Used in proofs to indicate a greater-than relation that should exist but hasn't been proven yet (non-rigorous) || Confused alligator || One metaphor used when teaching inequality signs in primary school is that the sign looks like an alligator mouth "eating" the larger number. Question marks are commonly used in cartoons to indicate confusion on the part of a character.
|-
| U+299E || ⦞ || Angle with S Inside || Plural for the angle symbol (∠) [https://www.quora.com/Unicode-How-is-the-s-in-triangle-glyph-used-in-mathematics][https://www.birdvilleschools.net/cms/lib2/TX01000797/Centricity/Domain/1114/Homework%20Helper%20Unit%203%20ch%209-10.pdf] rarely used || Snack || May look like a mouth eating an S, where the S symbolizes some snack food.
|-
| U+2A04 || ⨄ || {{w|Arity|N-ary}} Union Operator with Plus || Disjoint union[https://books.google.com/books?id=531cAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA165&lpg=PA165&dq=%E2%A8%84&source=bl&ots=oYXkMNXP-T&sig=ACfU3U2QvMRBkD7uVG0OSumKI0JQtjTIKA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwios862ypL3AhWXVTABHTnQALQQ6AF6BAgKEAM] (joining a family of sets that have no elements in common) || Drink refill || Looks like a cup with a plus to indicate adding drink to the cup.
|-
| U+2B48 || ⭈ || Rightwards Arrow Above Reverse Almost Equal To || Pairs with ⭂ which could conceivably mean {{w|Assignment (computer science)|assignment}} of an {{w|Approximation|approximation}}, but neither seem to be in use. || Snakes over there || Looks like two squiggles to represent snakes and an arrow indicating the direction where they may be found.
|-
| U+225D || ≝ || Equal To By Definition || Indicates an equation where the left side is to be defined as the right side[https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/1z1mty/can_someone_please_explain_the_equal_to_by/] usually used in proofs to indicate a definition is being introduced|| Definitely, for sure || "Def" is a contraction of "definitely" used in slang; the equal sign looks like a double underline, indicating heavy emphasis.
|-
| U+237C || ⍼ || Right Angle with Downwards Zigzag Arrow || No purpose is known.[https://ionathan.ch/2022/04/09/angzarr.html] Speculation includes a diode with a gate, proof by contradiction, a proofreaders' mark to split a word, and indication of polarization direction. {{w|GPT-3}} has suggested it could indicate particles interacting in physics.[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2606:_Weird_Unicode_Math_Symbols#GPT-3.27s_ideas_about_.E2.8D.BC] || Larry Potter || Looks like the letter "L" and a lightning bolt. {{w|Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter}} is known for having a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. The character {{w|Legal_disputes_over_the_Harry_Potter_series#Nancy_Stouffer|Larry Potter}} figured in a fraudulent legal claim against J.K. Rowling.
|-
| U+2A50 || ⩐ || Closed Union with Serifs and Smash Product || Indicates that a collection of topological spaces is {{w|Union-closed sets conjecture|closed}} when taking arbitrary unions and smash products. That is, if you take the union of any collection of topological spaces in the collection (even uncountably many), or the smash product of them, the result will also be in that collection. This is apparently important because the sets can't be isomorphic (one cannot be rearranged to be exactly the other.) [https://mathoverflow.net/questions/196084/counterexample-for-associativity-of-smash-product] || Spider caught with a cup and index card || Spiders or other bugs found within someone's house or workspace may be caught with a glass and something flat, often a card or a magazine, to be released outside. The projecting lines of the smash product symbol resemble the legs of a spider. Confusingly, some fonts display this symbol with different numbers of "legs": eight, as a 45°-rotated hash symbol, or six as an asterisk.
|-
| U+2A69 || ⩩ || Triple Horizontal Bar with Triple Vertical Stroke || Emblem of the Romanian {{w|Iron Guard}} fascist political movement; possibly a four-by-four {{w|tic-tac-toe}} board.[https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~sandlund/NumericalTicTacToe.pdf] || ℍ𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕥𝕒𝕘 || Hash symbol with one extra vertical and horizontal line, or perhaps a hash symbol which has been accidentally double-struck or overprinted.
|-
| U+2368 || ⍨ || APL Functional Symbol Tilde Diaeresis || Used for a two-argument operation to [https://aplwiki.com/wiki/Commute commute] (swap) its arguments or allow it to use a single provided argument in both argument slots, and to convert a value into a [https://aplwiki.com/wiki/Constant constant] function || :/ || Looks like a confused or disappointed face. Randall's use is in fact common among {{w|APL (programming language)|APL}} programmers in the comments, as documented [https://aplwiki.com/wiki/APL_Orchard#Emoticons here] and [https://aplwiki.com/wiki/Humour#Glyph_puns here].
|-
| U+2118 || ℘ || Script Capital [''sic''] P || A stylized {{w|round hand}} 'p' used by Weierstrass for his "{{w|Weierstrass elliptic function|p-function}}," with features of both capital 𝒫  and small 𝓅. Sometimes also used as the {{w|power set}} operator.
|| Snake || This symbol coils around like a long snake, with a tapering-off tail on one end and a small "head" on the other.
|-
| U+2AC1 || ⫁ || Subset with Multiplication Sign Below || Indicates that one set is subset of another by means of the cross product || <div style="writing-mode: vertical-rl; text-align: center;">User experience</div> || Looks like the letters "Ux" sideways; UX is a common abbreviation for {{w|user experience}}.
|-
| U+232D || ⌭ || {{w|Cylindricity}} || A symbol used in geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) to represent a parameter called "cylindricity" which describes the statistical deviation of an ensemble of surfaces from a reference cylinder. [https://cimquest-inc.com/metrology-minute-cylindricity/ example use] || Rolling dough between your hands to shape it into a ball || Looks like two flat hands (perhaps like stick-figure arms) rolling a ball between them. Rolling dough between one's hands to make it into a ball is an important step in making many kinds of pastry and bread.
|-
| U+2A13 || ⨓ || Line Integration with Semicircular Path Around Pole || Very rare symbol for half of a closed {{w|Contour integration|contour}} or {{w|Line integral|line}} integral which contains the {{w|Origin (mathematics)|origin}} in its interior. Contour integrals which circle the origin are very important in complex analysis. If such an integral were split into two parts, each could be represented by this symbol (which can be mistaken for ⨔, the integral not including the {{w|Zeros and poles|pole}}, with a wider and more complete arc around an offset dot.) [https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/2299363/where-is-the-%E2%A8%93-integral-symbol-defined]
|| Integral that avoids a bee on the whiteboard || Looks like an {{w|integral}} symbol with a bump that goes around a dot, as if a professor was drawing an integral on a whiteboard but did not want to disturb a bee that had landed right in the path of their marker.
|-
| U+2A0B (title text)|| ⨋ || Summation with Integral || The sum of the sum of the discrete elements (∑) and the integrals (∫) over the connected pieces. This symbol requires context to be meaningful but could occur, for instance, when computing probabilities using mixed distributions.
[https://twitter.com/fermatslibrary/status/1308743505309822977 see also]
|| Mathematicians need to calm down || Each of the two symbols is specifically used to represent a kind of summation that is calculated completely differently from the other. Combining them could produce frustration for people unfamiliar with the usage. The comment given may make fun of mathematicians' tendency to form increasingly complex expressions in their work. It may as well be a pun on the pronounciation of the letter {{w|Esh_(letter)|Esh}} (Shhhh).
|-
|}

This comic may have been inspired by [https://ionathan.ch/2022/04/09/angzarr.html this blog post], which went viral (in a limited sense) the same day the comic was published.

==Transcript==
<big>Weird Unicode Math Symbols</big>
And their meanings

{|
| U+29CD || ⧍ || Shark
|-
| U+23E7 || ⏧ || Traffic circle
|-
| U+2A33 || ⨳ || [The word "hashtag" with the letters slanted counterclockwise]
|-
| U+299E || ⦞ || Snack
|-
| U+2A04 || ⨄ || Drink refill
|-
| U+2B48 || ⭈ || Snakes over there
|-
| U+225D || ≝ || Definitely, for sure
|-
| U+237C || ⍼ || Larry Potter
|-
| U+2A50 || ⩐ || Spider caught with a cup and index card
|-
| U+2A69 || ⩩ || [The word "hashtag" but with extra horizontal and vertical lines]
|-
| U+2368 || ⍨ || :/
|-
| U+2118 || ℘ || Snake
|-
| U+2AC1 || ⫁ || [The words "user experience" rotated clockwise 90 degrees]
|-
| U+232D || ⌭ || Rolling dough between your hands to shape it into a ball
|-
| U+2A13 || ⨓ || Integral that avoids a bee on the whiteboard
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Unicode]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]

2605: Taylor Series

2022-07-02T21:24:48Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2605
| date = April 11, 2022
| title = Taylor Series
| image = taylor_series.png
| titletext = The Taylor series should have been canceled after the first term.
}}

==Explanation==

In mathematics, a {{w|Taylor series}} {{w|Polynomial expansion|expansion}} is a {{w|polynomial}} {{w|power series}} approximation of a function[https://matheducators.stackexchange.com/a/10212] around a given point, composed of an infinite sum of the function's {{w|Derivative|derivatives}}, each both divided by successive {{w|Factorial|factorials}} and multiplied by the incrementally increasing {{w|Exponentiation|power}} of the distance from the given point. Such expansions usually continue without end. Beyond approximation of functions, Taylor series are also useful for deriving numerical approximations of {{w|Irrational number|irrational}} values, {{w|Machin-like formula|such as π}}, as well as {{w|Symbolic integration|symbolic}} forms to make functions easier to integrate or otherwise manipulate with calculus.[https://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/taylor-series.html] However, because they involve difficult calculus operations, and can be annoyingly tedious to {{w|Numerical analysis|calculate by hand}}, they are often not loved by math students.[https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringStudents/comments/gbo8tm/taylor_series_can_fuck_off/]

[[Miss Lenhart]] appears to be teaching a class about how to use a Taylor series. She presumes her students want to keep learning about the series, in that they, "wish it would never end." She then says "Good news!" because the series does not end. The cartoon's humor is based on the contrast between wishing the series won't end, ordinarily desired of sequences of enjoyable events, and the infinite nature of the Taylor series, which is less likely appreciated by her students struggling to understand why the sums {{w|Convergent series|converge}} to their resulting value.

The title text is a reference to the common practice among physicists and engineers of abbreviating the Taylor series to only the first few terms, typically one or two, in order to simplify the mathematics of their models. The title text is also a pun on the use of the word "series" to refer to a television program. It symbolizes the terms of the mathematical series as a {{w|metaphor}} with a television season, suggesting that only the first term is useful. It makes fun of the common sentiment against bad {{w|screenwriting}} of a series by saying that, "The series should have been cancelled after the first season," replacing "season" with "term." (Notably, both "term" and "season" are used to refer to a stretch of time during which a program is airing—generally, a television or scholastic program, respectively.) Also note that US President {{w|Zachary Taylor}} died during his first term. In a way, his presidency was cancelled during his first term.

==Transcript==

:[Miss Lenhart pointing a stick at a whiteboard, which has some scribbled text written on it and one line is circled.]
:Miss Lenhart: At this point, you're probably thinking, "I love this equation and wish it would never end!"
:Miss Lenhart: Well, good news!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Taylor series expansion is the worst.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Math]]

2604: Frankenstein Captcha

2022-07-02T21:24:32Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2604
| date = April 8, 2022
| title = Frankenstein Captcha
| image = frankenstein_captcha.png
| titletext = The distinction between a ship and a boat is a line drawn in water.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic strip is a play on the meanings (and misunderstanding) of the name "Frankenstein". ''{{w|Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus}}'' is an 1818 novel by Mary Shelley about a medical student named Victor Frankenstein who creates an artificial life-form. The man he creates once describes himself as "the Adam of [Frankenstein's] labour" in the book, and strictly speaking is properly known as "Frankenstein's ''monster''" (or perhaps "creation" or "son"), but is often erroneously called "Frankenstein" himself. This has been fertile ground for many, many debates about whether the monster could also properly be called "Frankenstein," either as a family name, an honorific, or simply because it's more recognizable and convenient. Randall has weighed in on the debate himself in a previous comic, [[1589: Frankenstein]].

The CAPTCHA shown in the comic instructs the user to select all tiles containing Frankenstein. The tiles include both a reanimated corpse resembling Frankenstein's monster and a scientist yelling, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qNeGSJaQ9Q "It's alive!”] who is clearly intended to be Victor Frankenstein. The problem arises from the contrast between various definitions of the term Frankenstein. Going just off the book's text, the monster has no name, so the correct answer to the CAPTCHA is just the left square of the third row. However, the character depicted there is clearly ''Henry'' Frankenstein from the famous {{w|Frankenstein (1931 film)|1931 film adaptation}} (Victor Frankenstein never said the words "it's alive!" in the book), and likewise the creature depicted is clearly inspired by {{w|Boris Karloff}}'s iconic portrayal in that film and its sequels. If the images are captured from that film, then all four of them could be said to be "containing (a subset of) ''Frankenstein'' (the 1931 film)".

Some CAPTCHAs - especially Google's widely spread reCAPTCHA - nowadays serve a dual purpose: (1) to separate human users from bots by way of intelligent interaction, and (2) to train a neural network, hence the "correct answer" to image recognition CAPTCHAs is not known ahead of time and is merely based on the most commonly-chosen tiles. Thus, a user who knows that "Frankenstein" refers only to the scientist would face this CAPTCHA with dread, uttering "Oh No" as they realize that they must select the tiles containing the monster, and possibly not even be allowed to select the tile containing the actual scientist Victor Frankenstein if they want to pass the CAPTCHA.

Alternatively, this comic strip with its "Oh No" caption could be referencing [[1897]], which would imply that someone had actually created a Frankenstein's monster which needs to be located as soon as possible.

Many of the other tiles appear to be pictures of entities that inspire similar pedantry. For example, there is a picture of a turtle (or possibly a tortoise, or a reference to the {{w|Voight-Kampff_machine|Voight-Kampff test}} used in a manner analogous to CAPTCHA), a ship (or possibly a boat), {{w|Link (The Legend of Zelda)|Link}} (the name given to each of several protagonists that appear across generations and timelines, throughout the ''{{w|Legend of Zelda}}'' video games, who many erroneously refer to as Zelda), a pond (or possibly a lake, a puddle, or a {{w|mirage}}), a tomato (often subject to the ''fruit or vegetable'' debate), an erupting volcano (with lava, or is it magma?), the planet Pluto (or is it a dwarf planet?), and a man and a woman (who may be dating or just friends). Other tiles seem to be inspired by images that commonly occur in actual captchas, like the STOP sign or the traffic light. However, at least some of these may also be meant to fall into the category of entities that inspire pedantry, for example: because traffic lights can also be called traffic signals or stoplights; many people thinking that the shape of a stop sign is a hexagon, not an octagon; and the definition of a sandwich (previously discussed as a “random semi-ironic obsession” in [[1835]]).

The title text refers to one of the methods used to distinguish a ship from a boat. When making a turn, if the vessel leans towards the inside of the turn circle then it is considered a boat, whereas if the vessel leans away from the turn circle it is considered a ship[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1iM2CG5QQ8]. Since the vessel generates a wake as it moves, checking whether it is a boat or a ship can be done while it is literally drawing a line on the water (the wake). The phrase "a line drawn in water" is also an idiom for something ephemeral. Ironically, it has persisted for a long time and dates back at least to the early Buddhists. (e.g. [https://suttacentral.net/an3.132/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin| AN 3.132] & [https://suttacentral.net/an7.74/en/sujato?layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin| AN 7.74]). The distinction between a ship and a boat is also unclear, having changed over time, with no universally accepted rule to {{w|Ship#Nomenclature|distinguish between the two}}. The title text is also a pun on the common idiom "drawing a line in the sand." The title text could also be referencing the image of a boat or ship that appears as one of the CAPTCHA tiles in the comic, where Randall has drawn a squiggly line often used in crude drawings to represent a waterline.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A captcha design, with a header and four rows of four pictures each below it. The header, in white lettering on a blue background, reads:]
:To continue, please click
:All squares containing
:Frankenstein

:[The pictures, all with gray backgrounds, are as follows, from left to right in each row:]

Row 1
* Tortoise (or turtle)
* Ship (or boat)
* Frankenstein's monster (often mistaken as Frankenstein) waking up from a slab, while lightning strikes.
::Monster: GRRR
* Link from Legend of Zelda series (often mistaken as Zelda)

Row 2
* Lake (or pond), possibly a mirage, in the Egyptian desert
* Megan (or Science Girl, or Danish--possibly a direct joke about this wiki)
* The top of a volcano spewing lava (or magma)
* Pumpkin (or squash [fruit vs vegetable])

Row 3
* A mad scientist (Victor Frankenstein) throwing a switch while lightning strikes outside
::Frankenstein: It's alive!
* Sandwich
* Stop sign
* Girl running away from Frankenstein's monster
::Girl: Monster!

Row 4
* Rocket (spaceship) flying by Pluto (planet or dwarf planet)
* Cueball and Ponytail standing next to each other
* Traffic light (also called a stoplight, possibly mistaken as stop sign?) (called a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_light robot] in South Africa/Zimbabwe)
* Frankenstein's monster

:[Caption below the panel]:
:Oh no.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:CAPTCHA]]
[[Category:Frankenstein]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Food]]

2601: Instructions

2022-07-02T21:23:38Z

Account: /* Explanation of the image */ Explained what I could. Does anybody have ideas for how to explain the seemingly teleporting star? Gonna leave this incomplete for now.

{{comic
| number = 2601
| date = April 1, 2022
| title = Instructions
| image = instructions.png
| imagesize = 500px
| titletext = Happy little turtles
}}
*To experience the interactivity of this comic, visit the {{xkcd|2601|original comic}}.
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the LOGO OF A HAPPY LITTLE TURTLE - now that the full comic has been completed, an explanation of that is necessary. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the 12th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous April fools' comic was [[2445: Checkbox]], which was released on Thursday, April 1st, 2021.

When loading the comic just a small dot is shown, a {{w|radio button}} (or option button). Usually, there would be more than one to give the user options. Once it has been selected it cannot be deselected. Once pressed the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/2601_Instructions_Radio_on.png button turns blue] and this starts the real part of this April fool's comic.

The comic consists of an [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=0 audio file]. The speech is a mix of [[#Index of facts|facts about turtles]] and coding instructions in {{w|Logo_(programming_language)|LOGO}}. When executed, the instructions draw an xkcd comic. The audio file is 9 hours and 7 minutes long.

[[File:xkcd 2601 finished comic animation.gif|thumb|200px|200px|Click to view the animation of the code running to create the picture, sourced from the GitHub.]]
*See the [[#The Resulting Image|resulting comic]] below.
**And see how it is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/05/xkcd_2601_finished_comic_animation.gif animated here].
**This has been compiled by [https://github.com/theinternetftw/xkcd2601#transcription-complete theinternetftw on Github].
*The transcript of the quotes (the non-code) can be found here [[2601: Instructions/Audio Transcript]].
*Images of the dynamic changes and other pictures relating to this comic can be found here [[2601: Instructions/Images]].

Once the voice begins to describe the instructions (hence the title) it is possible to mute the audio by pressing a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/2601_Instructions_Radio_on.png muted button] at the bottom right of the screen. This fades into view when the radio button is pushed. Pressing it will change the button to a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/78/2601_Instructions_Radio_on_muted.png non muted loudspeaker]. These were the same buttons that were in the previous April fool's comic [[2445: Checkbox]]. That was the first xkcd [[:Category:Comics with audio|comic with audio]], and thus these were two April fools' comics with audio in a row, and these are the only comics with audio. In the Checkbox comic, the mute buttons meaning are reversed, so the sound is on when the loudspeaker is shown and muted when the mute button is shown. It could be another layer to the April fool's joke or just an error by Randall.

The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/e/e3/20220402201427%21instructions.png image originally displayed] on this page was of a small turtle crawling in the center where the radio button is in the real comic. That was the image that would be downloaded by web crawlers like explain xkcd's bot, as it is what was placed here on xkcd: https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/instructions_2x.png. This is of course not the real comic, which cannot be downloaded in that manner.

The "turtle" is a key concept in Logo, a programming language especially designed to teach programming to children in an easy way. The turtle in the logo is the cursor. Programming commands move the turtle, drawing a line as it goes. Of course, listening to hours of instructions, including the speech-synthesized reading of source code, is not an easy way to code or draw a picture.{{cn}}

In addition, at [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=32817 the end of the audio] the voice says:
<blockquote>
"I even talk to turtles at times, but you need to understand LOGO to appreciate the great, great things that have been created. We spend so much of our life typing, looking, but never ever seeing."
</blockquote>

The title text alludes to {{w|Bob Ross}}'s catchphrase "happy little trees" in ''{{w|The Joy of Painting}}'', a PBS TV show in which Ross leads the viewer through the painting of a nature scene. The audio file itself is also presented in the style of ''The Joy of Painting''; it begins with greeting the viewer and introducing the color palette to be used (just one color, in this case, as Logo and all computer monitors of the time were monochrome). The speaker then reads out some helper functions to be used in programming the scene, which is more analogous to Ross's palette of paints (titanium white, carmine red, etc.) along with words of encouragement as each is completed. The functions are DIST, to calculate the {{w|Euclidean distance}} between two points, LERP, to perform {{w|linear interpolation}}, MIX to average two numbers (with LERP), and CUBIC to draw {{w|cubic Hermite spline}}s. From there, the speaker alternates between sketching parts of the scene and offering more words of encouragement, mixed in with turtle facts.

Transcribing the audio into text was organized as a [https://github.com/theinternetftw/xkcd2601 project on github].

This is not the first time that Randall made an interactive comic where turtles played a big part, see [[1416: Pixels]]. In this, he jokes with the idea of turtles all the way down, which is [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10403 also mentioned] in the audio file. He also made a comic simply called [[889: Turtles]].

===Unique header text===
This comic has a [[xkcd_Header_text#Unique_header_text|unique header text]], see [[xkcd_Header_text#Instructions|the details here]]. The header is:
:"Today's comic was created with [https://twitter.com/fadinginterest Patrick], [https://twitter.com/Aiiane Amber], [https://twitter.com/chromakode @chromakode], [https://twitter.com/dyfrgi Michael], [https://twitter.com/wirehead2501 Kat], [https://twitter.com/xDirtyPunkx Conor], [https://twitter.com/zigdon @zigdon], and [https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin]."
The header had not changed [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-31_-_What_if.3F_2|since the promotion]] of the new ''what if? 2'' book.

==Trivia==
*If you have scripts disabled, you will just see a picture of a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/e/e3/20220402201427%21instructions.png little turtle] which is not interactive.

*The Tree being atop a turtle in the finished comic (as well as the general turtle theme) could be a reference to the programming phrase "it's [[1416: Pixels|turtles all the way down]]", which is used to describe infinite recursion. A world atop a turtle (albeit with elephants between) is also a Discworld reference, derived by [[1498: Terry Pratchett|Terry Pratchett]] from the same mythic roots, and something Randall is known to have [[1052: Every Major's Terrible|occasionally]] [[625: Collections|referenced]].

==Transcript==
:[The comic consists of one radio button, a small circle in the center of a large white panel. It is interactive. When pressing the radio button (selecting it), it turns blue. The second the radio button is pressed a more than 9-hour long audio file of coding instructions begins to play, and a mute button appears in the bottom right corner. It fades slowly into full opacity. Pressing this button will change it to a loudspeaker. It toggles whether there is sound playing or not. It is not possible to shut down the audio by pressing the radio button. Once selected it cannot be deselected as there is only this one option.]

:[Covered by the radio button is an image of a turtle crawling from left to right, with a dotted line trailing behind it, indicating its movement. This image can only be seen by looking in the place where images for xkcd are usually placed on xkcd.]

:'''[To read a transcript of the audio file go here: [[2601: Instructions/Audio Transcript]].]'''

==The Resulting Image==
[[File:xkcd 2601 finished picture.png|800px]]

===Explanation of the image===

The image drawn by the Logo program is a depiction of {{w|Bob Ross}} standing in front of a canvas, on which he has painted "a happy little tree, holding up a happy little world". However, unlike his usual "happy little trees", the tree depicted is not a small pine, but rather a gargantuan {{w|World Tree}} growing from the back of a giant {{w|World Turtle}}, on which a {{w|Flat Earth}} rests. (The "happy little world" does bear several small pines more typical of his style.) Several ornaments hang from the World Tree, referencing the common practice of hanging ornaments on {{w|Christmas trees}}.

Near the middle of the world, a Cueball sits while listening to the radio, perhaps tuning in to the same transmission that generated the image. Closer to the reader, a turtle is shown walking around, leaving dotted-line tracks behind it, suggestive of the Logo turtle. The dotted-line tracks spell out "TY", shorthand for "thank you" (presumably directed to the readers).

At the far top right, a dotted line is shown past which the words "vacuum decay" are written. This is a hypothetical effect in which the universe, being in a {{w|metastable}}} state, decays to a true vacuum, and the resulting annihilation of everything expands at the speed of light. As such, humans would have no idea if there were an approaching false vacuum until it arrived at Earth.

At the far left of the image, a robot and human are drawn next to a turtle which has flipped onto its back. The robot declares, "Poor thing!" while the human says "I'll help". This is a reference to the "empathy tests" employed to distinguish humans from androids in ''{{w|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?}}'' and its film adaptation ''{{w|Blade Runner}}''. As part of the test, the listener is asked to imagine being in the desert, flipping a tortoise onto its back, and refusing to turn it back over, while their eyes are monitored for signs of emotional response (or lack thereof). In this case, the robot expresses sympathy for the turtle and the human declares that he will turn it back over. (In this case, however, the robot is very clearly distinguishable from a human being.)

===Transcript of the image===
:[A man with large hair and a beard is holding an artist's palette with five patches of paint in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. He looks upon his canvas, where he has painted a large painting.]
:Painter: A happy little tree
:Painter: Holding up a happy little world.

:[The painting contains lots of stuff. Most notably, an enormous tree with a large, flat top grows on the back of a similarly large turtle at the bottom of the painting, the top of whose shell has been replaced with soil. On the tree is a robot that sees Cueball bending down to lift a turtle that is on its back. They talk:]
:Robot: Poor thing!
:Cueball: I'll help

:[In the top right corner, there is a dotted line forming a semi-circle around the corner. Inside this are the words:]
:Vacuum decay

:[There are no other words in the image. The image includes:]
In the sky:
* Mars, including:
** A Mars rover (appears to be Curiosity or Perseverance), which is examining a turtle
** A small rover (appears to be Sojourner)
* The JWST (James Webb Space Telescope)
* The ISS and what appears to be a TIE fighter transiting the sun
* Saturn
* A small planet with a man and a flower (''Le Petit Prince'' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
* A moon of Saturn, with both Cueball and a tiny turtle
* A constellation in the shape of a turtle
* A constellation in the shape of a kite (or a tetrahedron)
* A constellation that appears to be the little dipper (Ursa Minor) stacked inside the big dipper (Ursa Major), resembling a [[:wikipedia:lemon squeezer|lemon squeezer]], next to an object that appears to be half a lemon.
* Cueball playing tennis with incoming meteors
* A rocket
* Three birds
* Two galaxies
* A star which appears to have teleported

On top of the tree:
* Cueball listening to a radio
* Ponytail holding a balloon
* Megan looking over the edge
* A turtle who may have walked a path in the shape of the letters "T" and "Y"
* A squirrel
* A rabbit
* Two happy little trees
* Eight scattered tufts of grass and five scattered rocks
* Mountains in the background, one of which seems to have a gigantic Egg on its top and stairs leading to it, which is likely a reference to the video game {{w|The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening}}.

Under the tree:
* Beret guy looking out of a window in the tree
* Blondie standing at the base of the tree
* One happy little tree on top of the turtle
* Ponytail in a balloon, throwing out an anchor towards the turtle
* A helicopter with a stegosaurus tail (thagomizer)
* Three glass ball ornaments hanging from the tree

==Index of facts==
{| class="wikitable"
|Merriam-Webster defines a turtle as a noun.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=569
|-
|Here are some interesting notes from interesting facts about turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=962
|-
|Over a great many years, I have taken a great interest in the land turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=973
|-
|One of the interesting points about turtles is their great variety of foods.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=1415
|-
|in the pen and in five minutes it is surrounded by the turtles,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=1976
|-
|when I found one of the large turtles had caught and disemboweled, the very large toad,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=2648
|-
|I have seen turtles eating at 11:00 at night
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=2655
|-
|the youngest of turtles I have ever had seems to take to the same food as the adults
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=3506
|-
|I made friends with a turtle yesterday and he gave me his phone number.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=4283
|-
|Running away is slow as compared to this turtle propulsion.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=4522
|-
|Occasionally one can see a turtle dragging another one along
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=5370
|-
|I have never known a land turtle to bite
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=5382
|-
|Some people have turtles in their cellars believing that they catch rats and mice.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=5853
|-
|I believe that these turtles died because they were exhausted
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=5879
|-
|and mice might be kept away by the noise made by the turtle making its endless
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6151
|-
|But doubt whether a turtle could catch a rat or a mouse
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6158
|-
|In this, the turtles would enjoy themselves
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6437
|-
|How about some interesting things in 10 facts about marine turtles from the WWF UK.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6622
|-
|There are seven species of marine turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6628
|-
|Marine turtles were around more than 100
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6632
|-
|These days, scientists recognize seven species of marine turtle,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6638
|-
|turtles do not have teeth.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6890
|-
|Turtle shells are made of over 50 bones fused together.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7064
|-
|The first few years of a marine turtle's life are known as the lost years.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7352
|-
|Marine turtle species vary greatly in size.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7654
|-
|Wales holds the world record for the largest marine turtle ever found
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7675
|-
|1000 marine turtle hatchlings make it to adulthood.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=8216
|-
|turtles seem to prefer red, orange, and yellow food.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10106
|-
|I'm beginning to suspect it's turtles all the way down
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10403
|-
|marine turtles can migrate incredibly long distances.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10623
|-
|Marine turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=11365
|-
|move the turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=11788
|-
|Here are some more interesting bits from interesting facts about turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=11913
|-
|several occasions with the turtle still in c.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=12612
|-
|there is an artist in the bottom of everybody
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=12934
|-
|The number laid by a turtle varies
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=15403
|-
|I have also observed one turtle laying its eggs
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=15411
|-
|I had the pleasure of seeing six little baby turtles come out
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16167
|-
|The turtle commenced to dig at six p.m.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16753
|-
|Five days later a second turtle dug these eggs out arid,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16760
|-
|personally. I do not believe that the turtle digging out.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16768
|-
|turtles a year factoid. Actually just statistical error,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16972
|-
|average person paints zero turtles per year
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16976
|-
|turtles. Georg who lives in cave and eats over 10,000 each day
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16980
|-
|The young turtles when they make their emergence at the end of three months,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17234
|-
|Do you know what A sea turtle's favorite sandwiches?
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17526
|-
|Just ask the next sea turtle you meet.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17536
|-
|Here are some interesting observations from odd facts about turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17639
|-
|It has been said that the turtle,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17647
|-
|In many ways. The turtle is one or the strangest of living things,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17943
|-
|But the turtle in all his varieties in all his ways is a most mysterious animal.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17961
|-
|Your turtle is neither fish, flesh nor fowl.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17979
|-
|a little turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=18667
|-
|there is none so tenacious of life as the turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=18986
|-
|Leave the turtle apparently undisturbed
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=18992
|-
|Just as soon as a baby turtle emerges from the egg off he scuttles down to the sea.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19273
|-
|The young turtle feeds unmolested while his armor undergoes the hardening process
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19306
|-
|whatever the young sea turtle eats and wherever he eats it
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19628
|-
|the turtle is free from all danger
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19915
|-
|interferes with the turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19924
|-
|Cool facts about turtles from Deutsche Welle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20499
|-
|There is a reason why turtles look a little prehistoric.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20506
|-
|Luckily for the turtles, they're burrowing and water-dwelling habits.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20527
|-
|While a turtle's lifespan largely depends on the species,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20926
|-
|A typical pet turtle can make it to anywhere between 10 and 80 years.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20935
|-
|Researchers think some turtles could even be hundreds of years old.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20949
|-
|There are currently 356 known species of turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21629
|-
|There are sea turtles, leatherback turtles, snapping turtles,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21642
|-
|pond turtles, soft-shelled turtles, and of course tortoises,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21646
|-
|Not all turtles or tortoises
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22175
|-
|but all tortoises or turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22177
|-
|technically all tortoises are in fact turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22181
|-
|But the main difference between turtles and
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22192
|-
|while most turtles live in or near water
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22198
|-
|Some turtles are vegetarians
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22405
|-
|Most turtles are actually omnivores but a few species
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22409
|-
|Not to the fearsome-looking alligator turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22421
|-
|Even water-dwelling turtles will dig their nests
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22805
|-
|No species of turtle sticks around to raise their young.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22814
|-
|A turtle's gender is determined by temperature
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23005
|-
|A turtle's gender is determined after fertilization.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23010
|-
|If the turtles eggs incubate below 27.7 degrees Celsius,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23015
|-
|turtles tend to give birth to more females
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23037
|-
|Sea turtles are known for their amazing ability to return
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23182
|-
|turtles can navigate their way at sea by
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23190
|-
|turtles have strong underwater eyesight.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23618
|-
|Although sea turtles are famous for their internal GPS
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23629
|-
|Six out of seven turtle species are classified as
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23919
|-
|How about some interesting facts from turtle facts by Alina Bradford.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24214
|-
|turtles are reptiles with hard shells that protect them from predators.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24221
|-
|Turtles live all over the world in almost every type of climate
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24233
|-
|the turtle order
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24479
|-
|turtle,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24874
|-
|turtles spend most of their lives in water.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25251
|-
|Sea turtles rarely leave the ocean except to lay eggs in the sand.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25260
|-
|Freshwater turtles live in ponds and lakes
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25266
|-
|With so many different types of turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25760
|-
|The largest sea turtle species is the leatherback turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25765
|-
|The largest freshwater turtle in North America is the alligator snapping turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25788
|-
|The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the largest softshell turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25799
|-
|A turtle's shell is a modified rib cage and part of its vertebral column
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26177
|-
|All the thoughts of a turtle are turtles and of a rabbit rabbits.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26401
|-
|So let's try to think like a turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26406
|-
|Many turtles are able to retract their heads and feet into their shells,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26450
|-
|turtles are placed in the two sub-orders based on the method of retraction.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26455
|-
|Sea turtles have lost the ability to retract their heads
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26472
|-
|turtles are very adaptive and can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26676
|-
|Most turtle species are found in southeastern North America and South Asia.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26681
|-
|sea turtles can be found in the coral triangle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26844
|-
|what do you get if you cross a turtle with a giraffe,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26976
|-
|a turtleneck
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26981
|-
|The African helmeted turtle is the most common turtle in Africa,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27157
|-
|roti island. Snake-necked turtles are found only on Rhode island.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27221
|-
|turtles are not social creatures
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27393
|-
|while they typically don't mind if there are other turtles around them,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27396
|-
|Most turtles are active during the day,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27405
|-
|turtles are not silent creatures.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27537
|-
|Most turtles are omnivores.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27961
|-
|musk turtles eat mollusks,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27968
|-
|The cooter turtle is mostly vegetarian
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27973
|-
|and the green sea turtle only eats grasses and algae.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27976
|-
|The alligator snapping turtle lures in fish with its tongue
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28293
|-
|crayfish and other turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28313
|-
|All turtles lay eggs.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28483
|-
|No species of turtle nurtures their young
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28493
|-
|turtles reach the age to mate at different times.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28762
|-
|Male and female turtles intertwined their tails so
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29117
|-
|sea turtles travel from the ocean to lay eggs on beaches.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29387
|-
|sea turtles lay around 110 eggs in a nest
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29392
|-
|Though the flatback turtle only lays 50 at a time
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29396
|-
|the temperature of the sand affects the sex of the turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29661
|-
|Too many sea turtle females are being born
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29673
|-
|according to the sea turtle. Conservancy
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29679
|-
|Many turtle species are listed as threatened,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29984
|-
|I even talked to turtles at times
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=32815
|}
===Sources===
* Merriam-Webster, "Turtle" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turtle
* Forest And Stream, January 1916, p. 764: "Interesting Facts About Turtles"—"A Little Nature Study by a Scientist that will Interest Old and Young Naturalists Alike"—"By Randle C. Rosenberger M.D., Professor of Hygiene and Bacteriology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa." https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/281932#page/8/mode/1up
* "Top 10 Facts About Marine Turtles", https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/marine-turtles
* "Odd facts about turtles", Christian observer, May 11th, 1919
* "World Turtle Day: 10 cool facts about turtles" from Deutsche Welle, 22 May 2020, by Ineke Mules https://www.dw.com/en/turtles-tortoises-difference-facts/g-53260454
* "Turtle Facts" by Alina Bradford, published October 02, 2015, https://www.livescience.com/52361-turtle-facts.html

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]] 
[[Category:Comics with color]] 
[[Category:Comics with audio]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2601: Instructions

2022-07-02T21:08:38Z

Account: /* Transcript of the image */ All right, I've scrutinized the image, clarified certain spots, and added a few more details. Onto the explanation?

{{comic
| number = 2601
| date = April 1, 2022
| title = Instructions
| image = instructions.png
| imagesize = 500px
| titletext = Happy little turtles
}}
*To experience the interactivity of this comic, visit the {{xkcd|2601|original comic}}.
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the LOGO OF A HAPPY LITTLE TURTLE - now that the full comic has been completed, an explanation of that is necessary. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the 12th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous April fools' comic was [[2445: Checkbox]], which was released on Thursday, April 1st, 2021.

When loading the comic just a small dot is shown, a {{w|radio button}} (or option button). Usually, there would be more than one to give the user options. Once it has been selected it cannot be deselected. Once pressed the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/2601_Instructions_Radio_on.png button turns blue] and this starts the real part of this April fool's comic.

The comic consists of an [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=0 audio file]. The speech is a mix of [[#Index of facts|facts about turtles]] and coding instructions in {{w|Logo_(programming_language)|LOGO}}. When executed, the instructions draw an xkcd comic. The audio file is 9 hours and 7 minutes long.

[[File:xkcd 2601 finished comic animation.gif|thumb|200px|200px|Click to view the animation of the code running to create the picture, sourced from the GitHub.]]
*See the [[#The Resulting Image|resulting comic]] below.
**And see how it is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/05/xkcd_2601_finished_comic_animation.gif animated here].
**This has been compiled by [https://github.com/theinternetftw/xkcd2601#transcription-complete theinternetftw on Github].
*The transcript of the quotes (the non-code) can be found here [[2601: Instructions/Audio Transcript]].
*Images of the dynamic changes and other pictures relating to this comic can be found here [[2601: Instructions/Images]].

Once the voice begins to describe the instructions (hence the title) it is possible to mute the audio by pressing a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/20/2601_Instructions_Radio_on.png muted button] at the bottom right of the screen. This fades into view when the radio button is pushed. Pressing it will change the button to a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/78/2601_Instructions_Radio_on_muted.png non muted loudspeaker]. These were the same buttons that were in the previous April fool's comic [[2445: Checkbox]]. That was the first xkcd [[:Category:Comics with audio|comic with audio]], and thus these were two April fools' comics with audio in a row, and these are the only comics with audio. In the Checkbox comic, the mute buttons meaning are reversed, so the sound is on when the loudspeaker is shown and muted when the mute button is shown. It could be another layer to the April fool's joke or just an error by Randall.

The [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/e/e3/20220402201427%21instructions.png image originally displayed] on this page was of a small turtle crawling in the center where the radio button is in the real comic. That was the image that would be downloaded by web crawlers like explain xkcd's bot, as it is what was placed here on xkcd: https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/instructions_2x.png. This is of course not the real comic, which cannot be downloaded in that manner.

The "turtle" is a key concept in Logo, a programming language especially designed to teach programming to children in an easy way. The turtle in the logo is the cursor. Programming commands move the turtle, drawing a line as it goes. Of course, listening to hours of instructions, including the speech-synthesized reading of source code, is not an easy way to code or draw a picture.{{cn}}

In addition, at [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=32817 the end of the audio] the voice says:
<blockquote>
"I even talk to turtles at times, but you need to understand LOGO to appreciate the great, great things that have been created. We spend so much of our life typing, looking, but never ever seeing."
</blockquote>

The title text alludes to {{w|Bob Ross}}'s catchphrase "happy little trees" in ''{{w|The Joy of Painting}}'', a PBS TV show in which Ross leads the viewer through the painting of a nature scene. The audio file itself is also presented in the style of ''The Joy of Painting''; it begins with greeting the viewer and introducing the color palette to be used (just one color, in this case, as Logo and all computer monitors of the time were monochrome). The speaker then reads out some helper functions to be used in programming the scene, which is more analogous to Ross's palette of paints (titanium white, carmine red, etc.) along with words of encouragement as each is completed. The functions are DIST, to calculate the {{w|Euclidean distance}} between two points, LERP, to perform {{w|linear interpolation}}, MIX to average two numbers (with LERP), and CUBIC to draw {{w|cubic Hermite spline}}s. From there, the speaker alternates between sketching parts of the scene and offering more words of encouragement, mixed in with turtle facts.

Transcribing the audio into text was organized as a [https://github.com/theinternetftw/xkcd2601 project on github].

This is not the first time that Randall made an interactive comic where turtles played a big part, see [[1416: Pixels]]. In this, he jokes with the idea of turtles all the way down, which is [https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10403 also mentioned] in the audio file. He also made a comic simply called [[889: Turtles]].

===Unique header text===
This comic has a [[xkcd_Header_text#Unique_header_text|unique header text]], see [[xkcd_Header_text#Instructions|the details here]]. The header is:
:"Today's comic was created with [https://twitter.com/fadinginterest Patrick], [https://twitter.com/Aiiane Amber], [https://twitter.com/chromakode @chromakode], [https://twitter.com/dyfrgi Michael], [https://twitter.com/wirehead2501 Kat], [https://twitter.com/xDirtyPunkx Conor], [https://twitter.com/zigdon @zigdon], and [https://twitter.com/bstaffin Benjamin Staffin]."
The header had not changed [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-31_-_What_if.3F_2|since the promotion]] of the new ''what if? 2'' book.

==Trivia==
*If you have scripts disabled, you will just see a picture of a [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/e/e3/20220402201427%21instructions.png little turtle] which is not interactive.

*The Tree being atop a turtle in the finished comic (as well as the general turtle theme) could be a reference to the programming phrase "it's [[1416: Pixels|turtles all the way down]]", which is used to describe infinite recursion. A world atop a turtle (albeit with elephants between) is also a Discworld reference, derived by [[1498: Terry Pratchett|Terry Pratchett]] from the same mythic roots, and something Randall is known to have [[1052: Every Major's Terrible|occasionally]] [[625: Collections|referenced]].

==Transcript==
:[The comic consists of one radio button, a small circle in the center of a large white panel. It is interactive. When pressing the radio button (selecting it), it turns blue. The second the radio button is pressed a more than 9-hour long audio file of coding instructions begins to play, and a mute button appears in the bottom right corner. It fades slowly into full opacity. Pressing this button will change it to a loudspeaker. It toggles whether there is sound playing or not. It is not possible to shut down the audio by pressing the radio button. Once selected it cannot be deselected as there is only this one option.]

:[Covered by the radio button is an image of a turtle crawling from left to right, with a dotted line trailing behind it, indicating its movement. This image can only be seen by looking in the place where images for xkcd are usually placed on xkcd.]

:'''[To read a transcript of the audio file go here: [[2601: Instructions/Audio Transcript]].]'''

==The Resulting Image==
[[File:xkcd 2601 finished picture.png|800px]]

===Explanation of the image===

The image drawn by the Logo program is a depiction of {{w|Bob Ross}} standing in front of a canvas, on which he has painted "a happy little tree, holding up a happy little world". However, unlike his usual "happy little trees", the tree depicted is not a small pine, but rather a gargantuan {{w|World Tree}} growing from the back of a giant {{w|World Turtle}}, on which a {{w|Flat Earth}} rests. (The "happy little world" does bear several small pines more typical of his style.)

Near the middle of the world, a Cueball sits while listening to the radio, perhaps tuning in to the same transmission that generated the image. Closer to the reader, a turtle is shown walking around, leaving dotted-line tracks behind it, suggestive of the Logo turtle. The dotted-line tracks spell out "TY", shorthand for "thank you".

At the far left of the image, a robot and human are drawn next to a turtle which has flipped onto its back. The robot declares, "Poor thing!" while the human says "I'll help". This is a reference to the "empathy tests" employed to distinguish humans from androids in ''{{w|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?}}'' and its film adaptation ''{{w|Blade Runner}}''. As part of the test, the listener is asked to imagine being in the desert, flipping a tortoise onto its back, and refusing to turn it back over, while their eyes are monitored for signs of emotional response (or lack thereof). In this case, the robot expresses sympathy for the turtle and the human declares that he will turn it back over. (Although the robot is very clearly distinguishable from a human being.)

===Transcript of the image===
:[A man with large hair and a beard is holding an artist's palette with five patches of paint in one hand and a paintbrush in the other. He looks upon his canvas, where he has painted a large painting.]
:Painter: A happy little tree
:Painter: Holding up a happy little world.

:[The painting contains lots of stuff. Most notably, an enormous tree with a large, flat top grows on the back of a similarly large turtle at the bottom of the painting, the top of whose shell has been replaced with soil. On the tree is a robot that sees Cueball bending down to lift a turtle that is on its back. They talk:]
:Robot: Poor thing!
:Cueball: I'll help

:[In the top right corner, there is a dotted line forming a semi-circle around the corner. Inside this are the words:]
:Vacuum decay

:[There are no other words in the image. The image includes:]
In the sky:
* Mars, including:
** A Mars rover (appears to be Curiosity or Perseverance), which is examining a turtle
** A small rover (appears to be Sojourner)
* The JWST (James Webb Space Telescope)
* The ISS and what appears to be a TIE fighter transiting the sun
* Saturn
* A small planet with a man and a flower (''Le Petit Prince'' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
* A moon of Saturn, with both Cueball and a tiny turtle
* A constellation in the shape of a turtle
* A constellation in the shape of a kite (or a tetrahedron)
* A constellation that appears to be the little dipper (Ursa Minor) stacked inside the big dipper (Ursa Major), resembling a [[:wikipedia:lemon squeezer|lemon squeezer]], next to an object that appears to be half a lemon.
* Cueball playing tennis with incoming meteors
* A rocket
* Three birds
* Two galaxies
* A star which appears to have teleported

On top of the tree:
* Cueball listening to a radio
* Ponytail holding a balloon
* Megan looking over the edge
* A turtle who may have walked a path in the shape of the letters "T" and "Y"
* A squirrel
* A rabbit
* Two happy little trees
* Eight scattered tufts of grass and five scattered rocks
* Mountains in the background, one of which seems to have a gigantic Egg on its top and stairs leading to it, which is likely a reference to the video game {{w|The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening}}.

Under the tree:
* Beret guy looking out of a window in the tree
* Blondie standing at the base of the tree
* One happy little tree on top of the turtle
* Ponytail in a balloon, throwing out an anchor towards the turtle
* A helicopter with a stegosaurus tail (thagomizer)
* Three glass ball ornaments hanging from the tree

==Index of facts==
{| class="wikitable"
|Merriam-Webster defines a turtle as a noun.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=569
|-
|Here are some interesting notes from interesting facts about turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=962
|-
|Over a great many years, I have taken a great interest in the land turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=973
|-
|One of the interesting points about turtles is their great variety of foods.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=1415
|-
|in the pen and in five minutes it is surrounded by the turtles,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=1976
|-
|when I found one of the large turtles had caught and disemboweled, the very large toad,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=2648
|-
|I have seen turtles eating at 11:00 at night
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=2655
|-
|the youngest of turtles I have ever had seems to take to the same food as the adults
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=3506
|-
|I made friends with a turtle yesterday and he gave me his phone number.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=4283
|-
|Running away is slow as compared to this turtle propulsion.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=4522
|-
|Occasionally one can see a turtle dragging another one along
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=5370
|-
|I have never known a land turtle to bite
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=5382
|-
|Some people have turtles in their cellars believing that they catch rats and mice.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=5853
|-
|I believe that these turtles died because they were exhausted
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=5879
|-
|and mice might be kept away by the noise made by the turtle making its endless
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6151
|-
|But doubt whether a turtle could catch a rat or a mouse
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6158
|-
|In this, the turtles would enjoy themselves
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6437
|-
|How about some interesting things in 10 facts about marine turtles from the WWF UK.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6622
|-
|There are seven species of marine turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6628
|-
|Marine turtles were around more than 100
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6632
|-
|These days, scientists recognize seven species of marine turtle,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6638
|-
|turtles do not have teeth.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=6890
|-
|Turtle shells are made of over 50 bones fused together.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7064
|-
|The first few years of a marine turtle's life are known as the lost years.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7352
|-
|Marine turtle species vary greatly in size.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7654
|-
|Wales holds the world record for the largest marine turtle ever found
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=7675
|-
|1000 marine turtle hatchlings make it to adulthood.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=8216
|-
|turtles seem to prefer red, orange, and yellow food.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10106
|-
|I'm beginning to suspect it's turtles all the way down
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10403
|-
|marine turtles can migrate incredibly long distances.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=10623
|-
|Marine turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=11365
|-
|move the turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=11788
|-
|Here are some more interesting bits from interesting facts about turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=11913
|-
|several occasions with the turtle still in c.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=12612
|-
|there is an artist in the bottom of everybody
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=12934
|-
|The number laid by a turtle varies
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=15403
|-
|I have also observed one turtle laying its eggs
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=15411
|-
|I had the pleasure of seeing six little baby turtles come out
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16167
|-
|The turtle commenced to dig at six p.m.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16753
|-
|Five days later a second turtle dug these eggs out arid,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16760
|-
|personally. I do not believe that the turtle digging out.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16768
|-
|turtles a year factoid. Actually just statistical error,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16972
|-
|average person paints zero turtles per year
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16976
|-
|turtles. Georg who lives in cave and eats over 10,000 each day
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=16980
|-
|The young turtles when they make their emergence at the end of three months,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17234
|-
|Do you know what A sea turtle's favorite sandwiches?
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17526
|-
|Just ask the next sea turtle you meet.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17536
|-
|Here are some interesting observations from odd facts about turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17639
|-
|It has been said that the turtle,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17647
|-
|In many ways. The turtle is one or the strangest of living things,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17943
|-
|But the turtle in all his varieties in all his ways is a most mysterious animal.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17961
|-
|Your turtle is neither fish, flesh nor fowl.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=17979
|-
|a little turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=18667
|-
|there is none so tenacious of life as the turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=18986
|-
|Leave the turtle apparently undisturbed
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=18992
|-
|Just as soon as a baby turtle emerges from the egg off he scuttles down to the sea.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19273
|-
|The young turtle feeds unmolested while his armor undergoes the hardening process
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19306
|-
|whatever the young sea turtle eats and wherever he eats it
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19628
|-
|the turtle is free from all danger
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19915
|-
|interferes with the turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=19924
|-
|Cool facts about turtles from Deutsche Welle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20499
|-
|There is a reason why turtles look a little prehistoric.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20506
|-
|Luckily for the turtles, they're burrowing and water-dwelling habits.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20527
|-
|While a turtle's lifespan largely depends on the species,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20926
|-
|A typical pet turtle can make it to anywhere between 10 and 80 years.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20935
|-
|Researchers think some turtles could even be hundreds of years old.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=20949
|-
|There are currently 356 known species of turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21629
|-
|There are sea turtles, leatherback turtles, snapping turtles,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21642
|-
|pond turtles, soft-shelled turtles, and of course tortoises,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=21646
|-
|Not all turtles or tortoises
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22175
|-
|but all tortoises or turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22177
|-
|technically all tortoises are in fact turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22181
|-
|But the main difference between turtles and
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22192
|-
|while most turtles live in or near water
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22198
|-
|Some turtles are vegetarians
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22405
|-
|Most turtles are actually omnivores but a few species
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22409
|-
|Not to the fearsome-looking alligator turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22421
|-
|Even water-dwelling turtles will dig their nests
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22805
|-
|No species of turtle sticks around to raise their young.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=22814
|-
|A turtle's gender is determined by temperature
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23005
|-
|A turtle's gender is determined after fertilization.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23010
|-
|If the turtles eggs incubate below 27.7 degrees Celsius,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23015
|-
|turtles tend to give birth to more females
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23037
|-
|Sea turtles are known for their amazing ability to return
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23182
|-
|turtles can navigate their way at sea by
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23190
|-
|turtles have strong underwater eyesight.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23618
|-
|Although sea turtles are famous for their internal GPS
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23629
|-
|Six out of seven turtle species are classified as
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=23919
|-
|How about some interesting facts from turtle facts by Alina Bradford.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24214
|-
|turtles are reptiles with hard shells that protect them from predators.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24221
|-
|Turtles live all over the world in almost every type of climate
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24233
|-
|the turtle order
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24479
|-
|turtle,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=24874
|-
|turtles spend most of their lives in water.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25251
|-
|Sea turtles rarely leave the ocean except to lay eggs in the sand.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25260
|-
|Freshwater turtles live in ponds and lakes
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25266
|-
|With so many different types of turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25760
|-
|The largest sea turtle species is the leatherback turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25765
|-
|The largest freshwater turtle in North America is the alligator snapping turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25788
|-
|The Yangtze giant softshell turtle is the largest softshell turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=25799
|-
|A turtle's shell is a modified rib cage and part of its vertebral column
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26177
|-
|All the thoughts of a turtle are turtles and of a rabbit rabbits.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26401
|-
|So let's try to think like a turtle
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26406
|-
|Many turtles are able to retract their heads and feet into their shells,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26450
|-
|turtles are placed in the two sub-orders based on the method of retraction.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26455
|-
|Sea turtles have lost the ability to retract their heads
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26472
|-
|turtles are very adaptive and can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26676
|-
|Most turtle species are found in southeastern North America and South Asia.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26681
|-
|sea turtles can be found in the coral triangle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26844
|-
|what do you get if you cross a turtle with a giraffe,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26976
|-
|a turtleneck
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=26981
|-
|The African helmeted turtle is the most common turtle in Africa,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27157
|-
|roti island. Snake-necked turtles are found only on Rhode island.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27221
|-
|turtles are not social creatures
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27393
|-
|while they typically don't mind if there are other turtles around them,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27396
|-
|Most turtles are active during the day,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27405
|-
|turtles are not silent creatures.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27537
|-
|Most turtles are omnivores.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27961
|-
|musk turtles eat mollusks,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27968
|-
|The cooter turtle is mostly vegetarian
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27973
|-
|and the green sea turtle only eats grasses and algae.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=27976
|-
|The alligator snapping turtle lures in fish with its tongue
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28293
|-
|crayfish and other turtles.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28313
|-
|All turtles lay eggs.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28483
|-
|No species of turtle nurtures their young
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28493
|-
|turtles reach the age to mate at different times.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=28762
|-
|Male and female turtles intertwined their tails so
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29117
|-
|sea turtles travel from the ocean to lay eggs on beaches.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29387
|-
|sea turtles lay around 110 eggs in a nest
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29392
|-
|Though the flatback turtle only lays 50 at a time
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29396
|-
|the temperature of the sand affects the sex of the turtle.
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29661
|-
|Too many sea turtle females are being born
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29673
|-
|according to the sea turtle. Conservancy
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29679
|-
|Many turtle species are listed as threatened,
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=29984
|-
|I even talked to turtles at times
|https://xkcd.com/2601/radio.mp3#t=32815
|}
===Sources===
* Merriam-Webster, "Turtle" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turtle
* Forest And Stream, January 1916, p. 764: "Interesting Facts About Turtles"—"A Little Nature Study by a Scientist that will Interest Old and Young Naturalists Alike"—"By Randle C. Rosenberger M.D., Professor of Hygiene and Bacteriology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pa." https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/281932#page/8/mode/1up
* "Top 10 Facts About Marine Turtles", https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/fascinating-facts/marine-turtles
* "Odd facts about turtles", Christian observer, May 11th, 1919
* "World Turtle Day: 10 cool facts about turtles" from Deutsche Welle, 22 May 2020, by Ineke Mules https://www.dw.com/en/turtles-tortoises-difference-facts/g-53260454
* "Turtle Facts" by Alina Bradford, published October 02, 2015, https://www.livescience.com/52361-turtle-facts.html

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]] 
[[Category:Comics with color]] 
[[Category:Comics with audio]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2600: Rejected Question Categories

2022-07-02T20:44:38Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2600
| date = March 30, 2022
| title = Rejected Question Categories
| image = rejected_question_categories.png
| titletext = You can click to preorder to get a copy of What If? 2 when it comes out 9/13, assuming we all make it past the spider situation(?) on Tuesday(?).
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]] recently announced, in [[2575: What If? 2]], that he is publishing a new ''[[what if?]]'' book based on reader-submitted questions. This comic is another [[:Category:Book promotion|promotion]] of the book, and the entire comic is a link to his [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ what if? 2] page on xkcd.

This comic shows the [[#Question categories|categories of questions]] he claims to have received, but rejected to use in his book, giving an example question for each category. In typical xkcd fashion, these begin out by being plausible, although often unlikely to have been submitted as a ''what if?'' question, moving in to more and more absurd types of questions, especially with the last question, that appears to be a combination of all previous categories and is therefore marked "?????"

The title text refers to the launch date of the book September 13, rendered in the American style 9/13. This format can be confusing to non-Americans, although usually not when the date is larger than 12, since it would then appear to reference the 9th day of the 13th month. This "13th month" was, however, referenced in the first comic about the book: [[2575: What If? 2]]. See also Randall's take on the date format, {{w|ISO 8601}}, in [[1179: ISO 8601]].

Randall then continues the title text by referencing the second to last category with vague ominous questions. The example question here asks if there is need to worry about spiders after Tuesday. So Randall notes that the release date, 5.5 months after the release of this comic, is of course assuming anyone will survive past next Tuesday (2022-04-05).

Tuesday has been notably referenced in [[277: Long Light]], [[564: Crossbows]], [[1099: Tuesdays]] and most notably in [[1245: 10-Day Forecast]], where it seems that the last day ever will be a Tuesday. Tuesday is the second day of the week, and notably, the Tuesday of the week following the publication of this cartoon (April 5th, 2022) was the Day of the Spiders.

==Question categories==
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Category'''
|'''Question'''
|'''Explanation'''
|-
| People cheating on homework
| What if I made a pendulum by hanging a rock on a 2.75 meter string? What would its period be in seconds? (Show your work!)
| This appears to be a physics student trying to get out of doing their work by presenting the question for Randall to answer in ''What If'' (which is a common occurrence on question-and-answer sites such as Stack Overflow). Most school homework requires the student to "show their work", i.e. write out their process of solving the question. Making students show their work serves two purposes: it allows students to score partial credit on an incorrect answer if they show the right methodology and basic understanding even if they make a wrong turn along the way; it also prevents students from simply cheating by looking up the right answer without showing how they got that answer — the student including this caveat in their email is a giveaway as to their tactic (along with the boring nature of their inquiry).
|-
| Medical advice
| What if you got a scratch and the next day your hand looked like this [''📎 attachment'']? Should you see a doctor or what?
| Randall is not a physician, is not qualified to give medical advice, and will not answer medical questions. This was a problem on early Wikipedia which, for a time, required all articles covering medical topics to point to a {{w|WP:MEDICAL|Medical Disclaimer}}. This was also an issue covered in the 1st ''what if?'' book, under Weird and Worrying Questions from the Inbox, where a reader asks about the effects of a toxin on the excretory system. If your body is not behaving in the way you expect, consulting with a medical professional is, in general, a good idea.
|-
| Personal
| Why don't the squirrels in my yard like me???
| Randall has no way of knowing why the wildlife in a given area dislike a specific person, especially if this hints at a specific animosity/belligerence and not just general avoidance of humans as a perceived threat. These kind of questions are common on sites like reddit, and are usually covered by general explanation of animal behaviors unless the asker supplies more information in the comments. However, the choice of squirrels are likely not random since [[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] are a recurring theme on xkcd and has often been [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Squirrels#Uses_in_other_xkcd_media: used in what if?] (sometimes as {{what if|105|placeholder}} for a potentially horrible image).
|-
| Spam
| Do you want to meet lonely singles in your area tonight?
| This is a common online popup advertisement and is generally considered undesirable. An unavoidable side effect of Randall having an email address published where the public can find it is that spammers have just as much access to it. Most people do not respond to spam emails, and Randall is no exception.
|-
| Phishing
| Have you recently been the victim of phishing? To check, log in to your account by clicking here.
| Again, because Randall's What-If email is publicly available, phishers have access to it and can probe the recipient for information. Randall is experienced enough to recognize a phishing attempt and ignore it. This type of phishing scam, in which the scammer requests your personal data for the purported purpose of checking if it has been "stolen" thereby "stealing" it himself, has become more common as people have become aware of phishing, and phishers have thus embraced the possibility of exploiting a new niche in the layers of naivete.
|-
| Requests for help with a crime
| Using modern science, what would be the fastest way to get through this bank vault door? [''📎'' blueprints]
| No, Randall is ''not'' going to help a criminal commit breaking and entering or robbery, thank you very much. A common problem with heist movies is that they show a believable{{Citation needed}} method for breaking in to a vault which people then try to replicate in real life. Such movies often portray an expert in some other field being "smart enough" to craft the plan, sometimes unwittingly.
|-
| Unanswerable
| Why am I me and not someone else
| There is a lot in this question that could be unpacked, and Randall doesn't want to touch on any of it.

At face value the question is asking about {{w|Philosophy of mind}}, a branch of philosophy with many questions that are unanswerable due to our own imperfect understanding of mind. The asker is inquiring as to what process is responsible for designating that their consciousness be tied to the body in which they currently reside, as opposed to another body presumed to have consciousness; furthermore, they likely wish to know the mechanics behind how this process works. There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer.

It's also quite possible the asker is feeling melancholic and unsatisfied with their life. Randall doesn't feel qualified to try diagnosing or treating someone's existential depression.
|-
| Vague
| What is going to happen? (Be specific)
| Some humor is derived from the request for specificity in the question, which completely lacks any sort of specificity of its own.
|-
| Vague and ominous
| Will I have to start worrying about spiders after Tuesday?
| This implies some event that occurs on a (possibly next?) Tuesday. This event may relate to spiders in some way, and cause those who do not currently worry about spiders to do so. If you do not currently worry about spiders, this question does not give enough specifics for Randall to intelligently answer whether or not you should start.
Possibly a [[:Category:Red Spiders|red spiders]] reference. Could also be a reference to [[1688: Map Age Guide]] where some dangerous event involving spiders is set to happen in 2022.
|-
| ?????
| Hi, we're lonely singles in your area, and we're wondering what would happen if we shot a nuclear bomb into a volcano! Click here to log in and tell us ...
| If nothing else, this entry is clearly made up by Randall, as it appears to be a combination of as many prior categories as he has room for, specifically Spam, Phishing, and an already-answered question, before getting cut off by the bottom of the panel.

"Would it be possible to stop a volcano eruption by placing a bomb (thermobaric or nuclear) underneath the surface?" was a question featured in the first ''what if'' book. Randall answered with an emphatic "No!"
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In ''What If? 2'' (xkcd.com/whatif2), I answer ridiculous questions sent in by readers about everything from volcanoes to spaceships to soup.

Here are a few of the common types of question that I did ''not'' answer:

[In separate boxes for each category]

[In row 1:]

People cheating on homework: What if I made a pendulum by hanging a rock on a 2.75 meter string? What would its period be in seconds? (Show your work!)

Medical advice: What if you got a scratch and the next day your hand looks like this [''📎 attachment'']? Should you see a doctor or what?

Personal: Why don't the squirrels in my yard like me???

[In row 2:]

Spam: Do you want to meet lonely singles in your area tonight?

Phishing: Have you recently been the victim of phishing? To check, log in to your account by clicking here.

Requests for help with a crime: Using modern science, what would be the fastest way to get through this bank vault door? [''📎'' blueprints]

[In row 3:]

Unanswerable: Why am I me and not someone else

Vague: What is going to happen? (Be specific)

Vague+Ominous: Will I have to start worrying about spiders after Tuesday?

?????: Hi, we're lonely singles in your area, and we're wondering what would happen if we shot a nuclear bomb into a volcano! [partially cut off horizontally:] Click here to log in and tell us

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Spiders]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]

2599: Spacecraft Debris Odds Ratio

2022-07-02T20:44:16Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2599
| date = March 28, 2022
| title = Spacecraft Debris Odds Ratio
| image = spacecraft_debris_odds_ratio.png
| titletext = You say this daily walk will reduce my risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 30%, but also increase my risk of death by bear attack by 300%? That's a 280% increased! I'm not a sucker; I'm staying inside.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a misunderstanding of statistics very similar to that of [[1252: Increased Risk]]. It explains that going outside for more than 5 hours per day significantly increases your risk of head injury from falling spacecraft, and advises to limit outside activity to avoid this risk.

However, since the odds of being hit in the head by (any part of) a falling spacecraft are [https://www.livescience.com/33511-falling-nasa-satellite-uars-risk.html astronomically low to begin with], quadrupling it or more still results in a negligible probability. The horizontal error bars for times greater than 4 hours are marked with asterisks to indicate they are significantly different from the reference value at 0 hours, as indeed those error bars don't overlap the vertical line for the 0-hours reference value.

{{w|Error bar}}s are graphical representations of the variability of data and used on graphs to indicate the error or uncertainty in a reported measurement.

Presenting the data by hour brackets hides the data distribution inside each bracket. If the data were presented hour by hour, and not by groups of hours, they may show a different threshold of increased risk or no threshold (odds ratio could be linear).

The graph and error bars are based on a {{w|Monte Carlo Method|Monte Carlo simulation}}, a type of computational algorithm that uses repeated random sampling to obtain the likelihood of a range of results of occurring; see, for instance, this article about [https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/monte-carlo-simulation Monte Carlo simulations]. Additionally, this may indicate that the entire study was conducted via a Monte Carlo simulation and that no real data was collected adding to the absurdity of the claim that more time spent outside could lead to an increased risk of head injuries due to falling space craft. Indeed, it is so rare for humans to be struck by spacecraft debris that a simulation is probably the only way to study the risk; an absurdly large sample size, involving tens of millions of participants over several decades, would be necessary to obtain significant experimental data.

The specific reference to falling spacecraft is likely inspired by events happening around the time of this comics release (March 2022). Around a month before this was posted, the head of the Russian space agency, {{w|Roscosmos}}, warned that sanctions against Russia (mostly those over the {{w|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine}}) could result in the {{w|International Space Station}} crashing. Since the Russian section of the space station is the one that provides propulsion (although it is built to rely on the power generated by the other sections), this was taken seriously and as of when this was posted, {{w|NASA}} was trying to come up with alternative stabilization strategies in case the situation worsened. There was also a recent [https://www-uol-com-br.translate.goog/tilt/noticias/redacao/2022/03/17/parte-do-foguete-spacex-e-encontrada-por-morador-do-pr.htm?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=pt-BR&_x_tr_pto=wapp report] of some 600 kg space rocket debris found in Brazil.

The title text makes a similar joke. While the increase in chances of death by a bear attack are greater when going outside than the decrease in chances of death by cardiovascular disease, by getting out to exercise, it is incorrect to combine them in this way, since cardiovascular disease has a much higher starting chance of death, and reducing it by 30% has a much more significant effect on overall life expectancy than quadrupling the very very small chance of death by bear attack. At least for the majority of us who don't live in or near wild bears' natural habitats.

The "280% increase" of the title text is also an error, though perhaps not for reasons that are obvious at first (for instance, the correct calculation is not "300% − 30% = 270%"). To "increase by 300%" means multiplying the probability by (1 + 3.0) = 4.0, while to "decrease by 30%" means multiplying by (1 − 0.3) = 0.7. Combining these means multiplying by both, for an overall change of 4.0 × 0.7 = 2.8, or 280%. However, this result means the risk has increased ''to'' 280% of its old value, not ''by'' 280%. And in any case, it is ''still'' not valid to simply combine two changes in wildly different risks like this.

===Odds & Odds Ratios===

The odds of an event is the probability that it happens divided by the probability that it doesn't happen. People often express odds as a ratio (e.g. the odds of rolling a 6 on a 6-sided dice might be expressed as 0.16777... : 0.83333..., or equivalently as 1:5), but it is important to note that such ratios are not ''odds ratios'' (it would be fitting to call this a "probability ratio", but this terminology is not standard).

An odds ratio is the odds of event O happening, given that some other event E has occurred, divided by the odds of O given that E has not occurred. O is sometimes called an "outcome" and E is sometimes called an "exposure", because people are often interested in comparing things like the odds of getting lung cancer (O) given that you smoke (E) to the odds of getting lung cancer given that you don't smoke, as a way of measuring the extent to which exposure to E influences outcome O. In the case of the comic, the outcome variable O is the event of getting a head injury from falling spacecraft debris, and the exposure variable E is the event of spending H hours per day outside, for various values of H. The comic appears to be saying that for each value of H, there are two options for E: either you spend H hours per day outside or you never go outside.

So for small values of H (e.g. 1 hour per day), the comic is saying that the event of being hit by spacecraft debris is more or less independent of the event of spending H hours per day outside, which is to say that the odds of being hit is more or less the same regardless of the choice you make between spending H hours per day outside and never going outside. Hence the dot on the 1-hour bar is close to 1, because the two odds are more or less equal (the dot appears to represent an average estimate of the odds ratio).

Note that when calculating the odds ratios for this comic, the odds in the denominators are always the same, as they are the odds of being hit given that you never go outside, which does not depend on H. So when the comic says that the odds ratio is above 3 for H={11+ hours per day}, it is effectively saying that the odds of being hit when you spend this much time outside is a bit more than 3 times the odds of being hit when you spend 1 hour per day outside.

Suppose the probability of being hit is: P when you spend 1 hour per day outside, and Q when you spend 11+ hours per day outside. The odds of being hit under these two exposures are P/(1-P) and Q/(1-Q) respectively, and because the odds ratios have equal denominators, the comic is saying that Q/(1-Q) = kP/(1-P), where k is a bit more than 3. If we rearrange this to get an expression for Q, we get:

<pre>
Q/(1-Q) = kP/(1-P)
<=> Q(1-P) = kP(1-Q)
<=> Q-QP = kP-kPQ
<=> Q+kPQ-QP = kP
<=> Q(1+kP-P) = kP
<=> Q = kP/(1+kP-P)
<=> Q = P/(P+(1-P)/k) {by dividing the numerator and denominator by k}
</pre>

As P is negligibly small, 1-P is very close to 1, and P+(1-P)/k is very close to 1/k. Thus Q is very close to kP (i.e. a bit more than 3 times P), meaning that the probability of being hit when you spend 11+ hours per day outside is still negligibly small. Thus, the comic's suggestion that we spend 4 hours or less outside based on the estimated odds ratios is extremely misguided.

==Transcript==
:[A chart is shown. Above the chart there is a heading, with a subheading below it:]
:Odds ratio for head injuries from falling spacecraft debris
:(Monte Carlo Simulation)

:[The chart is rectangular with the X-axis labels above the chart with numbers from 1 to 5. These are places over vertical lines. The first at 1 is black, the other four are light gray. There are three smaller light gray ticks between each set of lines, and one on either side of the first and last. The distance between lines gets smaller and smaller towards the right, probably logarithmic.]
:X-axis: 1 2 3 4 5

:[The Y-axis is not scaled; there are no ticks or lines. Instead it just gives five labels from top to bottom. Above those labels there is an arrow pointing to the top one with a label above explaning the axis.]
:Hours spent outdoors per day
:Y-axis:
::0 (ref)
::1
::2-4
::5-10
::11+

:[Aligned with each of these five divisions of the Y-axis there is a dot. The top one is placed on the solid line under 1 as a reference point. The other four dots all have long error bars, with the dots at the center of these. The second dot is a bit to the left of the solid line, with the error bar going almost to the left edge of the graph and halfway to the first light gray line to the right. The third dot is located halfway between the solid and the first light gray line with the error bar just crossing the solid line, and almost reaching the gray line. The fourth dot is about a third way between the first and second of the gray lines, with the error bar crossing both these lines. The fifth and last dot is just past the second gray line, with the error bar crossing both that, going more than half toward the first gray line, and also just past the third gray line. On the same height as the two bottom dots, there are asterisks just right of the edge of the graph.]
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>

:[Below the panel there is a caption:]
:Our new study suggests that spending more than 5 hours outside significantly increases your risk of head injury from spacecraft debris, so try to limit outdoor activities to 4 hours or less.

==Trivia==
*In the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/d/d5/20220329223238%21spacecraft_debris_odds_ratio.png original version] of the comic the Y-axis label referred to "hours spent outdoors". So more than four hours spent outdoors in one's lifetime would be a problem.
**But later the comic was edited to specify "hours spent outdoors per day", which makes more sense.
*When the new version was uploaded, Randall again made the error of making the two versions of the comic image the same size, as he did earlier in [[2576: Control Group]], see that comic's [[2576: Control Group#Trivia|trivia]]
**This resulted in the problem that the comic broke the boundaries on the xkcd website.
*This comic's title text has a typo in the sentence "That's a 280% increased".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2598: Graphic Designers

2022-07-02T20:43:53Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2598
| date = March 25, 2022
| title = Graphic Designers
| image = graphic_designers.png
| titletext = They might make it past that first line of defense. For the second, you'll need some picture frames, a level, and a protractor that can do increments of less than a degree.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is inviting [[Knit Cap]] into his newly repainted residence. Knit Cap is a {{w|graphic designer}} and he simply can't enter because of the [[#Colors|color scheme]] used. The caption explains that if you paint each wall a slightly different shade of off-white, a graphic designer will be so repulsed that they are physically unable to enter the room. This is analogous with a specific bit of vampire lore: {{w|Vampires}} cannot {{w|Vampire#Protection|enter a dwelling uninvited}}.

Being presented with visual information that is ''just not quite right'' is known to cause feelings of unease and revulsion, particularly when presented with CGI human faces, a concept known as the {{w|uncanny valley}}.

In the title text, it mentions a contingency against the designer managing to actually overcome this disgust. In this case, Cueball sets up a second way to troll his graphic designer friend using some picture frames, a {{w|Level (instrument)|level}}, and a {{w|protractor}} that can measure increments of less than a degree. Cueball can then skew his picture frames by an extremely small amount, noticeable only to the designer friend, to disgust him even further — similar to the effect of [[1015: Kerning|bad kerning]]. This could thus be applied like the use of {{w|Christian cross|crosses}} or {{w|Garlic|garlic}}, which vampires are famously repulsed by.

Although the window ledges are slightly inclined, falling subtly from left to right, it is unlikely this is a deliberate aspect of the room so much as a side-effect of Randall's imprecise stick-figure drawing style.

===Colors===
True to the comic's joke, [[Randall]] has actually colored each segment of the comic differently to each other, even though normal persons would just perceive all walls as slightly gray (off-white).
The hexadecimal color codes are:
* Floor: #FFFFFF [[https://www.colorhexa.com/ffffff White]]
* Ceiling: #F3F7F8 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f3f7f8 Light Grayish Cyan]]
* Walls (left-to-right)
** #F2F0EE [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f2f0ee Light Grayish Orange]]
** #F3F4F2 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f3f4f2 Light Grayish Green]]
** #F2F3F4 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f2f3f4 Light Grayish Blue]]
** #F3F2F4 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f3f2f4 Light Grayish Violet]]
* Door: #F1F3F1 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f1f3f1 Light Grayish Lime Green]]
* Left window frame/ledge: #F2EEF2 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f2eef2 Light Grayish Magenta]]
* Right window frame/ledge: #F3F3F1 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f3f3f1 Light Grayish Yellow]]
* Box seat top: #EEF1EC [[https://www.colorhexa.com/eef1ec Light Grayish Green]]
* Box seat front: #F2EEF0 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f2eef0 Light Grayish Pink]]
* Rug outer ring: #F0F2F1 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f0f2f1 Light Grayish Cyan - Lime Green]]
* Rug inner panel: #F0EFF1 [[https://www.colorhexa.com/f0eff1 Light Grayish Violet]]

Whilst this subtle difference may be undetectable to humans without a graphic design qualification, it can be made clearer by increasing the saturation value of the image, as shown in this [https://i.imgur.com/gMpmJlp.png rendering with an exaggerated color saturation].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in a lightly adorned room of a house, facing an open doorway. Each surface is painted an almost imperceptibly different shade of off-white, except the floor which is white. There is a rug, a couch with a pillow (white) and a book. There are two windows, in the right there is a potted plant. Knit Cap stands in the open doorway, as if about to enter the house, one foot at the threshold, but not on the floor inside. Cueball is reaching towards the doorway, inviting Knit Cap to enter.]
:Cueball: Come on in! We just repainted.
:Knit Cap: I... can't.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:If you want to set up a vampire-style barrier to keep graphic designers from entering your house, just paint every surface a slightly different shade of off-white.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]

2595: Advanced Techniques

2022-07-02T20:40:54Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Removing some stale incomplete tags

{{comic
| number = 2595
| date = March 18, 2022
| title = Advanced Techniques
| image = advanced_techniques.png
| titletext = A blow from Emmy's Cutlass of Variations will transport the dragon to a corresponding symmetric position in the Noetherworld.
}}

==Explanation==
In typical [[Miss Lenhart]] fashion, she is teaching a mathematics class where she outlines a process by which a mathematical result is achieved through steps which sound suspiciously like magical {{w|Role-playing game|RPG}} logic. She includes both a dragon and arrows to slay it.

One of her students asks if this is a metaphor for the technique, but her rather tetchy reply "Does this look like English class?!" seems to imply that she literally means that dragons and arrows will be employed in the resolution of the problem. It is also clear from the slide she is pointing at that she has drawn a dragon and a man with a bow that is aiming an arrow at the dragon. Whilst metaphor is an important part of many languages, and so is definitely taught in language classes, it is not usually used in math classes.

The caption beneath the comic states that this approach describes "All advanced math techniques." This could be a reference to the now-common approach in higher mathematics in which a problem is transformed into another domain where it is easier to solve, then transformed back. For instance, in {{w|Fourier analysis}}, commonly used for analyzing the behavior of signals or dynamical systems, a problem can be transformed from the time domain to the frequency domain, solved, and then transformed back again. A (much) more complex example is Andrew {{w|Wiles's proof of Fermat's Last Theorem}}, which uses {{w|modularity theorem|modularity lifting}} to transform the problem. Here Miss Lenhart says she will transform a math problem into an actual dragon, slay it, and transform the corpse back into mathematics.

An alternative view is that Randall is referring to {{w|Arthur C. Clarke}}'s {{W|Clarke's three laws|third law}} that ''Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'', as re-framed for mathematics. What [[Randall]] would be implying is that all advanced math techniques look like magic to non-mathematicians. (Another advanced and somewhat magical math technique is deployed by Miss Lenhart in [[1724: Proofs]].)

Invocations are a common classification for spoken or vocalized types of spell. In the logic Miss Lenhart used, 'invoking' Gauss's operator may refer to casting a magical spell with verbal components (such as [https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/True%20Polymorph True Polymorph]). The operator is presumably named after the famous German mathematician {{w|Carl Friedrich Gauss}}. There is nothing on Wikipedia called Gauss's operator, but there is both {{w|Gauss's law}} and the {{w|Gauss–Kuzmin–Wirsing operator}}. As neither can transform an equation into a dragon,{{Citation needed}} it's clear Randall is making a joke.

Slaying the dragon with Hilbert's arrow indicates that the arrow has some magical properties. The arrow is presumably named after {{w|David Hilbert}}, known for many mathematical developments including {{w|Hilbert's problems}} and {{w|Hilbert spaces}}. A Hilbert space converts subsets of an infinite vector space into a complete metric space, allowing the use of linear algebra and calculus methods which might otherwise be applicable only to finite Euclidean spaces. Vectors could be compared with an arrow. Magical arrows are frequently used to slay dragons in myth and role-playing games. Magical items in RPGs such as {{w|Dungeons & Dragons}} are often named after a creator or famous user; hence, a magical "Arrow of Hilbert" might traverse infinite spaces or affect targets for which one or more stats are effectively infinite.

There is in fact a class of {{w|Dragon curve}}s, which do have the sort of S-shape shown on the whiteboard, but they have no connection to Gauss's operator, and are not actual dragons that need slaying.

The title text contains two puns and a reference. The phrase "{{w|Cutlass}} of Variations" is a pun on the mathematical technique called "{{w|Calculus of variations}}". The word "Noetherworld" is a pun on "{{w|underworld|netherworld}}". The reference is to the mathematician {{w|Emmy Noether}}, a giant in the field of abstract algebra which, through more of Ms. Lenhart’s questionable transformations, may become an actual giant in a field of abstract algae bras. Furthermore, {{w|Noether's Theorem}} is used in the Calculus of Variations. She was previously referenced as one of many important women in science back in [[896: Marie Curie]].

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is using a stick to point at a whiteboard behind her while facing, presumably, a crowd of off-panel students. The white board has a drawing of a snake-shaped dragon with wings, flying with it's body in an S-shape. An archer is pointing an arrow up at the dragon above him. Above the drawings there are three and below two rows of unreadable text and equations.]
:Miss Lenhart: To solve this equation, we invoke Gauss's operator to transform it into a dragon.
:Miss Lenhart: Then we slay the dragon with Hilbert's Arrow, and transform its corpse back into the solution.
:Off-panel voice: Just to be clear, this is a metaphor, right?
:Miss Lenhart: Does this '''''look''''' like English class?!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:All advanced math techniques

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Math]]

Talk:915: Connoisseur

2021-10-29T23:05:43Z

Account:

Well he's right about fonts. I am hooked on Operator Mono, which costs like $200-300 if you purchase it legitimately 😗 ... --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.110|172.69.22.110]] 08:51, 3 December 2018 (UTC)

Let's face it: every wine connoisseur is an alcoholic. You have to drink a lot of wine over a long period of time to begin distinguishing all wine-types, flavors etc. Rule of nature. No discussion.{{unsigned ip|162.158.83.144}}
:I hope you were drunk at least when you said this 🍻 --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.110|172.69.22.110]] 08:51, 3 December 2018 (UTC)
::This is (I think) the second and third time I have seen emojis on this site, and I have obsessively used and edited this site for months. Not a thing to be proud of.
:Actually, serious wine tasters spit out their drinks for exactly that reason. Amateurs... not so much. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.14|162.158.111.14]] 22:00, 29 October 2021 (UTC)
[[User:Beanie|Beanie]] ([[User talk:Beanie|talk]]) 11:11, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
This is one of those xkcd comics that I'm just constantly linking back to as an image retort. I love Randall. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:28, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

I expanded the explanation and removed the incomplete tag. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.117|173.245.53.117]] 14:47, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

The current incomplete tag asks why voice 1 calls Joe Biden "the man" and voice 2 calls him J.B. As far as I can see, there is no deeper/cryptic meaning to the choice of these words, other than possible space saving. Both 'J.B.' and 'the man' are shorter than 'Joe Biden'. I personally don't believe that this requires any further explanation, but I will leave the incomplete tag for now. If there are no updates to the page or additional discussion here, I will remove the incomplete tag in due course. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 13:06, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

:The stars are named Joe Biden, though. Hmmmm... [[User:RedHatGuy68|RedHatGuy68]] ([[User talk:RedHatGuy68|talk]]) 05:20, 23 January 2016 (UTC)

This could be another 242 reference; the explanation to [[903: Extended Mind]] describes Randall's use of 242 as an old inside joke, ãnd 242 also appears in [[688: Self-Description]]. [[User:Pelosujamo|Pelosujamo]] ([[User talk:Pelosujamo|talk]]) 20:07, 5 February 2017 (UTC)

How can it be a reference to 1051 if it came before 1051[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.106|162.158.63.106]]

:I don't see how there is a reference between these to comics anyway. especially regarding canadian surealist porn. Closest thing in there is Autoerotic Asphyxiation... I'm gonna delete that there is this reference [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 18:48, 4 January 2018 (UTC)
::Upon looking at it again to reread it, I notice, that the reference is not in the comic, but the explanation, as canadian surrealist porn is not a wikipedia link, but 3 of them for canada, surrealism and porn, which is basically the title text from 1051. Gonna delete it anyway, as it has no relevance. [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 18:50, 4 January 2018 (UTC)

All of us are connoisseurs of Randall Monroe eating a sandwich while drawing more comics.

:That's what I was thinking as well. Us two connoisseurs have similar tastes. :P [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.56|162.158.62.56]] 02:47, 20 October 2021 (UTC)

canadian surrealist porn ughghghghg https://xkcd.com/1051/ title text

Should change "a statement most wine enthusiasts passionately agree with" to "an opinion held by stereotypical wine snobs" because most wine enthusiasts know you can find joy in the right $20 bottle.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.50.76|172.69.50.76]] 00:37, 8 April 2020 (UTC)
:Go ahead and do it then? [[User:QoopyQoopy|QoopyQoopy]] ([[User talk:QoopyQoopy|talk]]) 00:59, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

Doing blind taste tests even the most expert wine connoisseurs can't tell the difference between red wine and white wine, never mind slight differences between different cultivars. It's all just a performance. [[User:The Cat Lady|-- The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 13:05, 22 August 2021 (UTC)

Just curious: did anyone ''not'' immediately do a web search to see if Canadian Surrealist Porn is a thing? (It doesn't seem to be, all the hits are either to this comic or to references to this comic.) [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 22:50, 12 September 2021 (UTC)

I do take a funny sense of satisfaction in Joe Biden being VP at the time of this comic's publishing and now being President. I don't know why; I don't even like the man's politics. I suppose I just like an XKCD comic suddenly becoming extra relevant beyond its initial circumstances. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.56|162.158.62.56]] 02:47, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
:Just you wait until he makes the sandwich America's national food... --[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 23:05, 29 October 2021 (UTC)

130: Julia Stiles

2021-08-29T00:17:31Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Because the forums are down.

{{comic
| number = 130
| date = July 19, 2006
| title = Julia Stiles
| image = julia stiles.jpg
| titletext = I found an old tape of this episode in my family's closet. Check the news section of the forums to see the clip!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Julia Stiles}}, who later became a well-known actress as an older teenager and adult, did in fact appear in the children's television show ''{{w|Ghostwriter (TV series)|Ghostwriter}}'' as a 12-year-old in 1993. The sketch in this comic depicts Stiles as she appeared in the episode, and all the dialogue attributed to her is taken from her character's actual dialogue.

Although this dialogue was supposed to establish Erica (Stiles' character) as an expert on hacking, it actually consists mostly of buzzwords (some of which are fake), none of which would impress an actual computer hacker. The term "console cowboys" is stated to be a reference to the book ''{{w|Neuromancer}}'' in the full scene.

The thread in the news section of the forums, as referenced in the title text, could originally be found [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=92 here]. However, as the forums went offline in 2019, the link is no longer available. A copy of the video with better audio can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bLlj_GeKniA here].

==Transcript==
:The best thing ever to appear on TV:
:12-year-old Julia Stiles as a hacker in a 1993 episode of PBS's "Ghostwriter"

:[A sketch of Julia Stiles, as a 12-year-old, with a bandana over her head, long wavy hair, elbow shirt, wrist band, and pants.]
:Julia Stiles: Do you know anything about hackers?
:Julia Stiles: Can you jam with the console cowboys in cyberspace?
:Julia Stiles: Never experienced the new wave? Next wave? Dream wave? '''OR''' cyberpunk?

==Trivia==
*This is a rare comic on xkcd to feature a drawing of a recognizable human being, as opposed to a stick-figure representation of them.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Talk:2461: 90's Kid Space Program

2021-05-10T21:26:16Z

Account:

While searching for popper toys in action, I found a figure in a scientific paper. Not sure if it would belong on this page. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326439672_Dynamics_of_viscoelastic_snap-through#pf2 [[User:Pgn674|Pgn674]] ([[User talk:Pgn674|talk]]) 20:15, 10 May 2021 (UTC)

Isn't it also allusion to Kerbal Space Program game? The ship in picture looks similar to game's stock crafts. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.249|162.158.91.249]] 21:05, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
Possibly? The girders and the capsule look similar, but the green bit looks a little like a Project Orion pusher plate to me. (Or maybe I just like Project Orion too much). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 21:07, 10 May 2021 (UTC)

The title text may refer to the way that NASA seems stuck in their ways and not willing to innovate, i.e. living in the past. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.249|162.158.91.249]] 21:13, 10 May 2021 (UTC)

I agree with the above suggestion that Kerbal Space Program is part of the joke, KSP is to iconic a acronym for Munroe to ignore, plus, he has mentioned it in other strips.

Is today some sort of special "90's day"? SMBC has a 90s-themed comic as well.[[User:Account|Account]] ([[User talk:Account|talk]]) 21:26, 10 May 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2461: 90's Kid Space Program

2021-05-10T21:25:59Z

Account:

2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-04-02T17:13:47Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Tiny grammar stuff.

{{comic
| number = 2275
| date = March 2, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Name
| image = coronavirus_name.png
| titletext = It's important to keep the spider from touching your face.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MUTANT T. ANNEXA WOLF SPIDER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is the first comic in a long [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}. For several weeks in a row, all comics were related to this outbreak.

This is thus [[Randall|Randall's]] first take on the coronavirus outbreak. As of the publication date (March 2, 2020), the outbreak had infected more than 90,000 people, and had caused more than 3000 deaths.

The disease caused by the virus was officially named {{w|Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19}} on 11 February 2020, as "coronavirus" is a category of viruses named for their appearance, which is similar to a halo or crown, and includes four different viruses which can cause the common cold in humans. However, the virus itself is not called COVID-19, but is called {{w|severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2}} (SARS-CoV-2). So calling the virus or disease "coronavirus" is like calling a specific strain of flu ''The Influenza virus''. However, since the new coronavirus is so hyped in the media it has attracted so much attention, so the name "Coronavirus" has become associated with COVID-19, making it difficult to discuss other types of coronavirus later on.

As of March 2, 2020, COVID-19 in China has a 20% hospitalization rate and a 2% death rate by current estimates, compared to a [https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-myths.html typical rate of around 0.1% for the flu in the US].

In this comic, researchers [[Ponytail]], [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are discussing that it is by now too late to try calling the disease its official name COVID-19, as the name coronavirus has stuck. [[Cueball]] reacts with dismay, since there are many other types of coronaviruses.

The comic becomes absurd when Ponytail compares the coronavirus naming to a giant "car eating spider" living on top of the skyscrapers of the town, which is also just called "The Spider" even though it is technically a mutated ''{{w|Tigrosa annexa}}'' {{w|wolf spider}}. Everyone knows what you mean when you say "Coronavirus", as they do when you mention "The Spider".

[[Megan]] then asks if they should not also do something about the spider, but Ponytail and Cueball agree that they can only tackle one problem at a time, and coronavirus takes up all their time. Only thing is that Ponytail now takes another commute, probably to avoid getting her car eaten.

On a more serious note, the comic may also reference the fact that that there are many other problems in the world (both spider and non-spider related {{Citation needed}}) that kill many more people and cause more problems. So this draws a humorous comparison to the fact that we seem to have forgotten about all the wars, etc and focus just on the virus.

The title text references the health advice that people avoid touching their face with unwashed hands, in order to prevent infections that they picked up by touching things from entering their mucous membranes. (It's a lot easier for an infection to enter the body through the inside of your nose than your hands.) It is likewise quite important to keep the giant spider from touching your face, but for the dissimilar reason that it might bite and eat you.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is carrying a box with biohazard symbols on it towards a desk where Ponytail (wearing safety glasses) is working on a laptop, across from Cueball (also wearing safety glasses) who is putting a test tube into a centrifuge. There's also a flask on the desk.]
:Ponytail: Feels like we missed the window for the "COVID-19" renaming. "Coronavirus" is just too catchy.
:Cueball: But it's not specific! There are a lot of coronaviruses.

:[In a frameless panel, Ponytail (still wearing safety glasses) is pointing at a screen or picture showing a modern city skyline with a large spider crawling across three of the high-rise buildings.]
:Ponytail: I think it's fine. It's like, you know the giant spider downtown that sits on the buildings and sometimes eats cars? I think ''technically'' it's a mutant ''T. annexa'' wolf spider, but everyone is just calling it "the spider" and we all know what they mean.

:[Back to the setting from the first panel. Megan is standing and Ponytail had turned towards her and Cueball has stepped back from the machine.]
:Megan: I've been meaning to ask, what's '''''with''''' that spider? Should we...do something?
:Ponytail: Honestly I've been too busy with the virus stuff to look into it-I just changed my commute to avoid Main St.
:Cueball: Yeah, that's fair. One thing at a time.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Spiders]]

2274: Stargazing 3

2020-04-02T17:00:08Z

Account: /* Explanation */ The explanation, for the most part, now exists. "incomplete" tag deleted.

{{comic
| number = 2274
| date = February 28, 2020
| title = Stargazing 3
| image = stargazing_3.png
| titletext = If we can destroy enough of the lights in our region, we may see more comets, but that's a risk we'll have to take.
}}

==Explanation==

This is the third comic in the Stargazing series. The first [[1644: Stargazing]] appeared four years earlier and the second [[2017: Stargazing 2]] one and a half years earlier.

As in the first two comics [[Megan]] is a TV host who continues mixing accurate astronomical information with trivialities, as well as utterly bizarre statements. (See this [[1644: Stargazing#Relevant TV-shows|section]] from the original Stargazing comic about the host and also the [[1644: Stargazing#Trivia|trivia]], from the original comic, regarding the gender of the host).

{{w|Vega}} is a star in the constellation of {{w|Lyra}}. It does indeed have {{w|Magnitude (astronomy)|magnitude}} 0.03 and is the brightest star mentioned in this comic. Vega is only the {{w|List of brightest stars|5th brightest star}} (outside of the Sun), as {{w|Sirius}} is the brightest visible star. The phrase <q>It's the brightest star I'm currently talking about</q> is an example of the technically correct but not at all useful information that is typical of the Stargazing series. The phrase is true no matter what, because any star one talks about is the brightest star one is talking about, as any brighter star becomes the one talked about when mentioned.

{{w|Polaris}} is indeed the star over the North Pole, and is commonly called the North Star or the Pole Star. It is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor, but there are about fifty other stars that are as bright as it is (magnitude 2), so it's not really remarkable apart from being the pole star, as Megan says. Despite the fact that being the pole star is "all it has going for it," it is nevertheless very important because it is used for navigation, as it appears fixed in the night sky. It hasn't always been and won't always be the pole star, however, as Earth's axis precesses in a 26,000 year cycle.

{{w|Comets}} are comparatively small clumps of rock and ice, seen mostly by the long, lit 'trail' of particles the heat of the sun causes to be ejected, and the solar wind then spreads outward in thin glowing lines that ''can'' be larger and more visible even than the constellations they are seen in front of - at least during the brief phase of their closest approach to the sun. Comets generally have highly elliptical orbits around the Sun and so they are only seen for a brief period of time "every few decades" during their closest aproach. Yelling at comets is believed to be an ineffective way to make them go away.{{Citation needed}} Megan may dislike comets because of their history in superstition of being seen as a sign of doom. This provides humor because typically this superstitious fear was caused by a lack of understanding, and it would be expected that a stargazing host would be informed on and therefore unafraid of comets. No actual astronomers are bothered by comets{{Citation needed}}, but some are upset about [https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/starlink-satellites-astronomy/ satellite megaconstellations] such as {{w|SpaceX Starlink|SpaceX's Starlink}}. In that case, astronomers are not yelling at the satellites, but at the companies that launch them.

{{w|Light pollution}} is indeed a problem with stargazing. Light pollution is the presence of artificial light in the night sky, which makes it very difficult to see stars. Stargazing in remote locations is remarkably different than in populated cities. Light pollution was previously discussed in [[2121: Light Pollution]]. Light pollution does not actually make the "sky go away", but it does affect how humans can see stars or other astronomical features in the sky.

Megan advocates an active approach to resolving light pollution—rather than lobbying for reductions in artificial lighting, as the {{w|dark-sky movement}} does, she intends to lead her audience in destroying artificial lights. Older lightbulbs are usually glass bulbs filled with inert gas (for incandescent bulbs) or high-pressure gases (for e.g. {{w|sodium-vapor lamp}}s) and so are easy to destroy with any blunt impact, thus accounting for Megan's mention of "throwing rocks at them". Modern LED lights, however, are much more robust, which is why she is handing out crossbows to achieve greater projectile energy. An "[http://sonic.net/~rknop/php/astronomy/classes/a103/sum2006/info/angdist.shtml#xbow astronomy crossbow]" is a tool used to measure the angular distance between stars. They cannot shoot real {{w|crossbow bolt}}s, but any type of crossbow or other weapon could be used to destroy lights and "preserve" the sky. (Speaking of astronomy tools that have weapon-related names, there is a type of telescope called a "{{w|Sun Gun Telescope|Sun Gun}}", but it is only meant to be used during the day to enable groups of people to view the Sun safely. It is probably best that Megan's show is taking place at night, or else she might cause even more trouble.)

In the title text Megan mentions that by destroying enough of the lights in the region will make it possible to see more comets. By reducing the light pollution it will in general be possible to see more of any kind of astronomical objects, not just comets. But as Megan has made clear she dislikes comets, and is thus not interested in seeing any of them. But to see more of any of the other astronomical objects out there, she is willing to take the risk of seeing more comets, by lowering the light pollution.

==Transcript==
:[In a dark panel, Megan as a TV host stands in front of a group of people: Science Girl, Ponytail and Cueball. The panel is inverse-colored, i.e. white text and drawings on black]
:Host: Welcome back to Stargazing.
:Host: There are no new stars since last time, but you came back for some reason.

:[Zoomed out on the same scene, the host is now with Science Girl, Ponytail, Cueball, a Megan-like woman, and White Hat. The host is pointing upwards with her left hand.]
:Host: That star is Vega. At magnitude 0.03, it's the brightest star I'm currently talking about.
:Host: That one is Polaris. It's over the North Pole, which is all it has going for it.

:[A frame-less white panel, zoomed in on the host, who is now pointing upwards with her right hand.]
:Host: That's a comet. Some of them come back every few decades, no matter how much I yell at them.
:Host: But stargazing isn't all fun yelling. We face a problem even worse than comets: light pollution.

:[Back to a dark panel, the host now has a big bag of crossbows. The bag has a logo of a crossbow with stars around it. She has taken out one of them and is holding it in her right hand.]
:Host: The sky is going away because people keep shining lights at it. The new LEDs are even worse - they're too blue, and you can't turn them off by throwing rocks at them like with the old ones.
:Host: Luckily, I brought these astronomy crossbows.
:Host: Take one, then let's fan out and look for lamps.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Stargazing]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Crossbows]]

2273: Truck Proximity

2020-04-02T16:59:26Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Another "incomplete" tag, a holdover from months past.

{{comic
| number = 2273
| date = February 26, 2020
| title = Truck Proximity
| image = truck_proximity.png
| titletext = See also: Farm animals and dinosaurs. I am so confident that there exists children's media that involves dinosaurs driving trucks on a farm that I'm writing this without even Googling to check.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is a graph showing the relationship between time spent in proximity to trucks and level of knowledge about different types of trucks. For the general populace the two tend to go together: people who do not spend much time around trucks are less likely to have knowledge about trucks, and people who spend more time around trucks are more likely to have knowledge about trucks. People with jobs or hobbies involving trucks spend a lot of time with them and must know how they work, so they fit this trend but at a higher level on both axes.

The outlier group presented here are parents of small children. Small children think trucks are cool and learn a lot about them, and then share this knowledge with their parents. The children themselves might be counted into the "people with truck-related hobbies" but parents won't and are unlikely to go near any truck. They might also ''try'' to keep their children away from them, which is why they have less proximity to trucks than most normal people.

The title text presumes that this graph could also be made about dinosaurs and farm animals. [[Randall]] confidently states that children like dinosaurs and farms and trucks, and so there must be multimedia featuring all three at once. In fact, books about dinosaurs driving tractors on farms do exist ([https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Farm-Penny-Dale/dp/0763699365 Dinosaur Farm!] and [https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Farm-Frann-Preston-Gannon/dp/1454911328 Dinosaur Farm] are two examples), as are books about them driving trucks ([https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Rescue-Penny-Dales-Dinosaurs/dp/0857631675 Dinosaur Rescue!]) as well as TV shows about dinosaurs that ARE trucks ({{w|Dinotrux}}). Not all three together [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/f9zvra/childrens_media_that_involves_dinosaurs_driving/ so far], apparently trucks and farms do not mix very well.

==Transcript==
:[A chart is shown with two axes. Each axis has a label with an arrow pointing from the label towards higher values. No values are shown.]
:X-axis: Knowledge of different types of trucks
:Y-axis: Proximity to trucks in daily life

:[Three sections are marked on the chart with dotted lines, drawn in imperfect ellipses. The first two circumscribe areas along the diagonal X=Y. A large one takes up about two thirds of the length starting from the origin, and a smaller one is separated a bit from the first one, but continuing the trend of X=Y. This takes up less than a third at the top right. Below this, close to the X-axis is a third even smaller section, its outer edge is as far to the right at the one at the top. Each of these three sections has a label written inside. From largest to smallest these are:]
:Normal people
:People with truck related jobs or hobbies
:Parents of children age 2-5

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Animals]]

2272: Ringtone Timeline

2020-04-02T16:50:56Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Explanation completed by now, with 1 month of stagnation.

{{comic
| number = 2272
| date = February 24, 2020
| title = Ringtone Timeline
| image = ringtone_timeline.png
| titletext = No one likes my novelty ringtone, an audio recording of a phone on vibrate sitting on a hard surface.
}}

==Explanation==

After the {{w|telephone}} was invented, a way of indicating when a call was coming through was needed. Special voltages sent through the line were used to activate a physical bell on the other end, leading to what we recognize as a {{w|Ringtone|phone ringing sound}}, and that method of generating sound persisted for quite some time, even when new methods of detecting and generating ringing sounds were developed.

Eventually, however, people realized they were no longer confined to the traditional bell ringing sound, as computers became more and more involved with the telephone process, and variations of bell-type sounds were introduced, often sounding like spaceship sounds from sci-fi movies. Probably the most iconic "cool space beeps" are the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y64wVO3Uv0 chirps] from the communicators from ''{{w|Star Trek}}'' (which themselves resemble flip-phones in style). Another common ringtone was the {{w|Nokia tune}}.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, [https://orangemag.co/orangeblog/2018/9/25/a-retrospective-on-ringtones actual songs, or song snippets] were able to be used as a ringing sound. It became common to record song snippets from the radio, or to use song MP3 files as ringtones. Many of these songs are grating to hear, and also a social ''faux pas'' if they sound in theatres or other listening venues. As an example, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-PmJYxusHI this Geico ad] featuring bad ringtones, including "the worst ringtone [the Geico gecko has] ever heard", came out around the end of the "song and novelty ringtone" period (according to Randall's periodization).

As people got sick of that, they reverted to use the default ring tone, a spaceship / computer sound, although this time often of higher quality and more melodious in nature. Nowadays, there are more people electing to use a more traditional ringing sound, both as the novelty has worn off, and possibly also as an ironic statement about ringtones. Randall (in the person of Cueball) made a statement like this in [[479: Tones]] in 2008, which according to his reckoning was in the waning years of the novelty ringtone epoch.

The final stage the comic is pointing to is do away with traditional sound entirely, and going with the vibrate mode most portable phones have; what little sound there is is more of a low rumbling sound. Using this setting is common for schools, workplaces, or churches, as it can be [https://www.androidcentral.com/do-us-all-favor-and-put-your-phone-vibrate-mode disruptive to have a phone ring in a public place]. Some users have chosen to always set their phones to the vibrate setting, to avoid having to change their ringing settings back and forth. [[Randall]] claims that vibrate mode is the "final victory" over ringtones, which he apparently dislikes.

In the title text, [[Randall]] ironically uses a "novelty ringtone" which is an audio recording of a phone vibrating. This would sound like a phone on vibrate mode, but his actual phone is not vibrating, and is actually producing a "ringing" sound. However, if the original phone was vibrating on a hard surface (as opposed to in a pocket, muffled by fabric), the sound would be much louder and more grating. A recording of that sound, played as an audio ringtone, would go back to being annoying again. But maybe less imaginatively so than might be a version of the staccato "drum-da-da-drum-da-da-drum" of a phone's periodic handshaking with a mast, such as you sometimes hear over unassociated audio equipment, at pretty much any time it pleases.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A horizontal timeline spanning between the years 1875 and 2022. Every year is indicated by a tick below the line, and labeled every 5 years. There is a gap between 1883 and 1989 with jagged lines to indicate a jump in time. 7 sections are labeled on the chart, each with a border except for the first and last:]

:[1875, with no border:]
:Telephone ringer invented

:[1878-1883:]
:Normal ringing sounds

:[Gap and jagged lines to indicate jump in time from 1883 to 1989]

:[1989-1996:]
:Normal ringing sounds

:[1996-2003:]
:Cool space beeps

:[2003-2009:]
:Song and novelty ringtones

:[2009-2013:]
:Cool space beeps

:[2013-2019:]
:Normal ringing sounds

:[2020, with no border:]
:Everyone sets their phones to vibrate

:[Caption below the panel:]
:After 140 years, humanity is finally on the verge of winning the war against ringtones.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]

2271: Grandpa Jason and Grandpa Chad

2020-04-02T16:47:16Z

Account: /* Explanation */ No reasons for incompleteness; 4 weeks since last non-spam edit; incomplete tag therefore deleted.

{{comic
| number = 2271
| date = February 21, 2020
| title = Grandpa Jason and Grandpa Chad
| image = grandpa_jason_and_grandpa_chad.png
| titletext = The AARP puts the average age of a first-time grandparent close to 50, and the CDC has some data. But I don't have first-parent age distributions for specific names, or generational first-child age correlations, so the dotted line is just a guess. Still, let's be honest: No further research is really *needed.*
}}

==Explanation==

Another [[:Category:Fun fact|Fun fact]], this comic contains three separate curves, with the x-axis being the date and the y-axis being the frequency of three separate sets of data:
* The number of people in the US with the name "Jason", a curve that reaches its maximum in 1977, when Jason became the [http://www.babynames.it/top100/1/year-1977.html second most common name] and reached the [https://www.everything-birthday.com/name/m/Jason maximum number of babies born with that name]
* The number of people in the US with the name "Chad," a similar curve that reaches its maximum in 1973, when [https://www.everything-birthday.com/name/m/Chad the number of babies named Chad reached ''its'' maximum]
* An estimate of the birth years of people that are becoming grandparents, with its maximum in 1968, 52 years ago. The title text explains this is the age at which, on average, most people become grandparents, citing an [https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/surveys_statistics/life-leisure/2019/aarp-grandparenting-study.doi.10.26419-2Fres.00289.001.pdf AARP study]

The graph shows that the names "Jason" and "Chad" were extremely uncommon in the US prior to the 1960's, but then experienced a surge in popularity, peaking in the late 1970's, and falling off thereafter. There are a couple of interesting effects when certain names become temporarily trendy. It means that those names become closely associated with a particular age cohort, so one can guess a person's age range based solely on their first name, and therefore predict other tendencies associated with age (this is also explored in [[1950: Chicken Pox and Name Statistics]]). A side effect of this is that, when this cohort first comes of age, those names enter the public consciousness as being associated with youth, trendiness and irresponsibility. Of course, that cohort continues to age, and eventually becomes the adult cohort, then the senior cohort, but stereotypes are often slow to change. [[2165: Millennials]] is similarly about how a label has outlived the demographic that it was used to describe, while the people described by the label have outgrown the traits that the label entails.

In addition to dealing with with the inertia of our assumptions and stereotype, this comic also continues a long XKCD tradition of [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|pointing out how quickly time is passing, and how slow we often are to realize it.]] In this case, those of us in Randall's general age range are used to thinking of "Jason" and "Chad" as names for young, trendy, party animals. The fact that only a small fraction of people with these names are under the age of 30, and a growing number of them are now grandparents (and that trend is likely to increase rapidly in the next few years), forces us to acknowledge that quite a bit of time has passed since we first formed our world views, and that means we've aged, even if we haven't noticed it.

The title text adds a caveat to the assertion, mentioning the lack of any real evidence for the distribution of ages of Grandparents, but tacitly admits that the matter is not sufficiently important to seek any further precision.

Other possible caveats of the data:
* The Y-axis is in percent of the highest year, not absolute numbers. So while it jokingly implies that, in a few years, all grandparents will be named Jason and Chad, in actuality it will probably be in the order of the hundreds of thousands of people (less than 2% of [https://www.aarp.org/home-family/friends-family/info-2017/record-number-grandparents.html all grandparents]), but still common enough compared to other "ages" to be "the age of Grandpa Jason and Grandpa Chad"
* There are many fewer [https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/C/CH/CHAD/index.html people whose legal name is Chad] than [https://www.mynamestats.com/First-Names/J/JA/JASON/index.html people who's legal name is Jason], so "Grandpa Jason" will probably be much more common than "Grandpa Chad"
* Chad is really more of a {{w|Chad_(name)|nickname}}, so data on people assigned the name Chad at birth may be meaningless

The title text ends with the text "No further research is really *needed,*" referencing [[2268: Further Research is Needed]]. This is also a joke in itself. The emphasis on *needed* is an admission that although more research is *possible*, it's simply not warranted, given the fairly trivial nature of the topic.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A progression chart covering the period of years between 1950 to 1995. One line, representing the birth years of people becoming grandparents, is dotted and begins low at the start, climbs, then steeply declines. Two solid lines, representing the birth years of people named "Chad" or "Jason", begin in the early 1960s, rise almost concurrently, however one declines steadily while the other has a curve almost before the end of the chart. The overlapping area between the dotted and solid lines is shaded. The lines show the following data:]

:Birth years of people becoming grandparents this year (United States, very rough estimate)
:[A dotted line which begins at 1950, rises to its peak at 1970, then steeply declines to zero by the late '70s.]

:Birth years of people named "Jason" and "Chad" (Social Security data)
:[Chad: A solid line beginning at 1962, rises to its peak by 1975, then drops through the '80s and '90s. Jason crosses underneath it in 1985, but then re-crosses it in 1993.]
:[Jason: A solid line beginning at 1963, rises to its peak between 1977-80, then declines, dropping beneath Chad around 1985 but climbing above it again in 1993.]

:[Caption below the comic:]
:Fun fact: We have now entered the era of "Grandpa Jason" and "Grandpa Chad."

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Fun fact]]

2270: Picking Bad Stocks

2020-04-02T16:45:01Z

Account: /* Explanation */ 'Tis completed.

{{comic
| number = 2270
| date = February 19, 2020
| title = Picking Bad Stocks
| image = picking_bad_stocks.png
| titletext = On the news a few days later: "Buzz is building around the so-called 'camping Roomba' after a big investment. Preorders have spiked, and..."
}}

==Explanation==

[[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] are discussing the stock market. Ponytail explains that there has been no reliable way to consistently pick stocks that outperform the market average. She also states that there could be a corollary to that; there is no way to consistently pick bad stocks (presumably for this discussion, ''bad stocks'' refers to stocks whose value is expected to go down). Cueball states that he could consistently pick bad stocks, and the last panel shows him at a trading terminal purportedly buying bad stocks, while [[White Hat]] and [[Megan]] use his bad stock picks as indications that those stocks should be removed from whatever stock index they manage.

Generally, people invest in the stock market hoping to make money. They buy stock in companies whose value they expect will increase, and sell stock when they feel its value is about to stop increasing or start decreasing. Someone who could tell whether a stock's price will rise or fall (more than the average stock) in a given time interval could make a lot of money, but this is an infamously difficult problem. Market prices already reflect the consensus estimate of what a stock should be worth based on all public information about the company. Some investors use {{w|fundamental analysis}}, that is, they attempt to understand companies based on their financial statements and market position to identify which stocks are likely to become more or less valuable over time, while others use {{w|technical analysis}} which seeks to identify patterns in the stock prices themselves. Technical analysis was featured in [[2101: Technical Analysis|comic 2101]]. However, while the rise and fall of stock prices are sometimes connected to real events (strong or weak profit statements, new product announcements, major scandals) that one person might predict better than another, they more often exhibit random-walk behavior. Many studies, such as the long-running "[https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=670404 Investment Dartboard Contest]" run by ''{{w|The Wall Street Journal}}'', have found that an index of stocks that represent the total market, or even a set of randomly-selected stocks (often colloquially stated as "picked by a monkey") beats paying an expert to choose your portfolio.

Realistically, in investing, someone who purposely trades in ''bad stocks'' is called a '''short seller''', and someone who could consistently pick ''bad stock'' could make a lot of money in the stock market. Short selling consists of selling a stock before you own it, with the anticipation that the stock's price will drop soon, and you can later purchase the stock to fulfill the sale. The difference between the selling price and the purchase price is your profit, just as with any normal ("long") purchase and sale. However, in US stock markets, it is illegal to sell stocks that you don't own, so when you short a stock, you need to borrow that stock from a third party (possibly the trading firm you're working with, or some other firm that the trading firm has a stock loan relationship with, that currently holds a position in the stock you're shorting) to cover the sale. This is all done automatically by the trading platform you use. Between the time you sell the stock until the time you repurchase the stock on the open market, you will have what's called a '''short position''' on the stock, and you need to pay interest to the company that lent you that stock. Because of the interest payments, short sales are almost always short-term positions, as the interest paid on the loan can quickly exceed any profit you might make on the sale. {{w|Gary Shilling|A. Gary Shilling}}, a financial analyst, famously remarked that "[https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/08/09/remain-solvent/ markets can remain irrational a lot longer than you and I can remain solvent.]" Ponytail attempted to explain short selling to Cueball in [[2094: Short Selling]] (perhaps that comic and this one are part of the same conversation), although Cueball found Ponytail's advice much less helpful than he has found this comic's conversation. However, in this case, Ponytail is not describing short selling but instead, investing in every stock except for the bad ones

Cueball's statement about wanting revenge on a ghost may be a reference to [[2259: Networking Problems]], in which Cueball was driven insane trying to debug network problems and came to believe in ghosts. Perhaps the CEO of company #208 has had a similar experience with a network.

If Cueball's statement that a company is developing a "camping {{w|Roomba}}" is correctly attributing the trademark (as opposed to genericizing it to refer to any small cleaning robot), then presumably company #1434 is {{w|iRobot}}. While a Roomba for camping may sound like a ridiculous concept that is not likely to make much money, developing a robot that can navigate and move around natural environments would be a major advancement leading to new opportunities for both their civilian and military product lines. A campground offers a more challenging environment than indoors, while being slightly more controlled than a truly wild area, making for a good development step. Dropping iRobot from this company's index is probably not a move that would be suggested by a stock broker who is earnestly trying to make money, but maybe Cueball's "market anti-sense" knows something we don't.

In the title-text, it seems that perhaps Cueball's investment advice was actually taken seriously (perhaps his trading terminal was accidentally connected to the market, or the video feed was view-able by other investors), which caused consumers to take the camping Roomba more seriously and make it (and iRobot) more successful than if Cueball had done nothing. Or maybe he's worse at picking bad stocks than he thinks he is; a legitimate investor could have seen what Cueball saw and taken it as a good sign.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[Cueball and Ponytail are walking together.]
:Cueball: I feel like by now I should know about the stock market.
:Cueball: What ''is'' investing? Do you just open a website and pick the companies you like?

[Ponytail holds out her hand palm-up.]
:Ponytail: Well, you totally can.
:Ponytail: But there's a lot of evidence that no investing strategy consistently picks stocks that outperform the average of the whole market. A lot of fund management is a myth.

[Close-up on Ponytail, who has turned to Cueball.]
:Cueball: Huh, okay.
:Ponytail: But there's a weird corollary to that idea: it implies that, ignoring fees and stuff, it's just as hard to consistently ''lose'' money by picking ''bad'' stocks from an index.

[Cueball and Ponytail are both back in frame. They are standing still and facing each other.]
:Ponytail: If someone could consistently buy bad stocks, you could beat the average by hiring them, letting them pretend to invest, then buying every stock ''except'' the ones they pick.
:Ponytail: In a way, bad judgement is just as helpful as good judgement.

[Cueball raising his hands.]
:Cueball: Oh my God.
:Cueball: I can do that!
:Ponytail: No, it's just an example--
:Cueball: This is the job I was born for.

[Cueball is either sitting in a box or being viewed on a camera screen. He is sitting in front of a computer console, and a camera is pointed at him. Megan and White Hat are viewing him, and White Hat is holding a tablet.]
:[Text box: Soon...]
:Cueball: Hey, this company's CEO wants revenge on the same ghost as me! I'm buying!
:Cueball: Ooh, and this one is planning to develop a "Camping Roomba." That's a sure bet!
:Megan: Drop companies #208 and #1434 from the index.
:White Hat: Done.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Roomba]]
[[Category:Stock Market]]

2269: Phylogenetic Tree

2020-04-02T16:43:23Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Names mentioned; related comics mentioned; incomplete completely deleted.

{{comic
| number = 2269
| date = February 17, 2020
| title = Phylogenetic Tree
| image = phylogenetic_tree.png
| titletext = And I was kicked out of my March Madness pool because I wouldn't shut up about the evidence for NBA/ABA endosymbiosis.
}}

==Explanation==

In biology, {{w|phylogenetic tree}}s are a way of showing evolutionary relationships between species. Each split in the tree represents a species that was the common ancestor of the two species beneath it, resulting in a bifurcating structure that can be followed all the way back to a single root - the most recent common ancestor of all species in the tree.

In sport, a tournament tree is a diagrammatic way of showing the progress of competitors in an elimination tournament. Each split in the tree represents the winner of a match between the two competitors beneath it. This too results in a bifurcating tree structure, which eventually terminates at a single root representing the champion of the tournament. [[:Category:Tournament bracket|Tournament brackets]] are a recurring theme at xkcd.

In this comic, Randall has taken advantage of the similarity between these two diagrams in order to prank his fellow biologists.

Each year in the United States, in March and early April, 68 {{w| National Collegiate Athletic Association}} (NCAA) Division I {{w|college basketball}} teams play in a {{w|single elimination}} postseason tournament to decide the national champion of college basketball. This tournament is colloquially known as {{w|March Madness}}. Associated with this tournament, it has become commonplace to guess the outcomes of each game, and predict who will win the tournament. A diagram illustrating the progress and elimination of teams through the tournament is called a {{w|Bracket (tournament)|bracket}}. Presumably Randall is referring to the men's college basketball tournament here, though there is a separate women's college basketball tournament that is also referred to as "March Madness".

[[Randall]] has replaced the trees in a biology paper with a basketball {{w|March Madness pools|March Madness bracket}}, which is not related to biology. The 2019-20 NCAA college basketball regular season had not ended yet at the time of this comic's publication, so the partial bracket shown is a fictional bracket. Compared to a phylogenetic tree, the 'root' of a tournament tree is the final result (once known), rather than the common ancestor that was prior in time to all those that came after; the 'leaves' are all the initially hopeful competitors, rather than the latest extant (or unsucceeded extinct) organisms.

The title text shows the inverse of what the comic says: Apparently the March Madness bracket pool removed Randall after he tried to introduce biology-related evidence comparing the {{w|National Basketball Association}} (NBA) and {{w|American Basketball Association}} (ABA) to organisms and claiming the ABA is an {{w|endosymbiont}} living inside the NBA. An endosymbiont is an organism living inside another organism. In a way, this can be considered true of these two leagues, as the NBA and ABA {{w|ABA–NBA merger|merged}} in 1976 after which the ABA ceased to exist. 4 teams from the ABA, the {{w|Denver Nuggets}}, {{w|Indiana Pacers}}, {{w|Brooklyn Nets}} and {{w|San Antonio Spurs}}, continue to exist today as NBA teams. It is additionally humorous that Randall brings up the ABA/NBA merger in a March Madness bracket group, as March Madness is a college basketball tournament, as opposed to professional basketball played by the NBA and ABA.

A March Madness bracket was also the topic of [[1819: Sweet 16]].

===Teams shown in the bracket===
The bracket shows the Duke University basketball team winning the NCAA college basketball tournament. Strangely, it shows Gonzaga University linked only to explicitly non-Gonzaga branches, suddenly appearing out of the bottom section, which is not possible in a sports bracket context, but possible in biology if Gonzaga is an identified ancestral root with all descendant evolved species identified by a new term. In fact, the implied unchanged continuity of Duke from 'universal ancestor' to niche population sharing the world with all of its diverged and re-evolved outbranchings (rather than perhaps used as a term for a typically broad cladistic group of branches, such as Archaea) would be more curious - or just imply an inherent of available precision in the necessary paleobiological studies that classify the proposed UA and its descendency.

As of the publish date of this comic, all of the college basketball teams mentioned (except the University of Virginia) were ranked in the top 25 of the {{w|AP Poll|Associated Press poll}}. The University of Virginia was the 2019 national champion (winner of the tournament), so that may have been why they were mentioned.

{| class="wikitable"
!Team name
!University
!Ranking
!Notes
|-
|Dayton
|{{w|University of Dayton}}
|#5
|A private Roman Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Dayton has appeared in 18 tournaments, most recently in 2017.
|-
|Duke
|{{w|Duke University}}
|#6
|A private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Duke has appeared in 43 tournaments (most recently in 2019), and has won 5 national championships (most recently in 2015).
|-
|FSU
|{{w|Florida State University}}
|#8
|A public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State has appeared in 17 tournaments, most recently in 2019.
|-
|Gonzaga
|{{w|Gonzaga University}}
|#2
|A private Roman Catholic university in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga has appeared in 22 tournaments, most recently in 2019.
|-
|Kansas
|{{w|University of Kansas}}
|#3
|A public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas. Kansas has appeared in 48 tournaments (most recently in 2019), and has won 3 national championships (most recently in 2008).
|-
|Louisville
|{{w|University of Louisville}}
|#11
|A public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville has appeared in 39<ref group="note" name="Louisville">Louisville vacated its tournament results from 2011-15, including its 2013 national championship, due to NCAA violations.</ref> tournaments (most recently in 2019), and has won 2<ref group="note" name="Louisville" /> national championships (most recently in 1986).
|-
|UVA
|{{w|University of Virginia}}
|Unranked
|A public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia has appeared in 23 tournaments (most recently in 2019), and won a national championship in 2019.
|}

==Transcript==

:[A circular phylogenetic tree is shown, with various parts of the tree colored red, green, blue, and black. Text is written on the root of the tree and the first few branches, getting smaller until it becomes unreadable. The visible text is:]
:Duke
:Duke Gonzaga
:Louisville Duke UVA FSU
:Dayton UVA Kansas FSU

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I was kicked off the biology project after I secretly replaced all the phylogenetic trees in our new paper with March Madness brackets.

==Notes==
<references group="note" />

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Tournament bracket]]
[[Category: Basketball]]
[[Category: Biology]]

2268: Further Research is Needed

2020-04-02T16:40:09Z

Account: /* Explanation */ Deleting incomplete tag.

{{comic
| number = 2268
| date = February 14, 2020
| title = Further Research is Needed
| image = further_research_is_needed.png
| titletext = Further research is needed to fully understand how we managed to do such a good job.
}}

==Explanation==

In most scientific fields, it's very common to end research papers with the caveat that "more research is needed", or words to that effect. This is particularly true when reporting results on a topic that's not well studied, and in which there's not enough literature to form a broad consensus. This is a very reasonable suggestion, an individual research project may produce results that suggest a certain conclusion, but it would be foolhardy to take something as established fact based on a single study. Individual studies may produce misleading information, they may have flaws that don't become evident until later, they may be based on assumptions that don't hold up, or the results may end up having an alternate explanation (as when a correlation is found, but does not establish specific causation). It's all too common for science reporters, particularly in low-quality outlets, to draw broad and bold conclusions from a single study, but actual scientists quickly learn to be more cautious. Peer-reviewed papers will generally make clear that conclusions are tentative, and may be modified or even overturned by future research.

This comic's fictional paper, however, ends with a statement that the paper has resolved all the problems about its topic, and that no more research is necessary. Humorously, the authors are so confident in their research skills that they believe that they have solved all the problems in that particular topic that can be solved. Munroe jokes that he'd like to see researchers with "the guts" to make such a proclamation. In real life, doing so would likely damage the reputation of the study's authors, because it would belie both a breathtaking arrogance and a lack of understanding of the research process. If nothing else, studies need to be replicated, to establish that the initial data gathering was accurate. In addition, no single study could realistically address every aspect, variation and complication in a given topic. It's simply not feasible that a single paper could "[resolve] all remaining questions" on any given topic, and making such a ridiculous claim would badly damage a researcher's credibility. At the same time, if no further research were necessary, every researcher in the field, including the author who wrote the study, would need to either change fields or change careers. The title text ironically states that "further research" ''is'' indeed needed to understand how the researchers who wrote the paper were able to resolve all the problems in that topic or field, thus allowing the researchers to justify future funding for their research.

Perhaps the statement most like this made by a real scientist was by {{w|Albert A. Michelson}}, at the 1894 dedication of the University of Chicago's Reyerson Physical Laboratory: "[I]t seems probable that most of the grand underlying principles have been firmly established and that further advances are to be sought chiefly in the rigorous application of these principles to all the phenomena which come under our notice." (Variants of this statement are sometimes misattributed to {{w|William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin}}.) Even this statement is couched in much less certainty than the concluding statement presented in this comic strip, and sure enough, just eleven years later, {{w|Albert Einstein}} wrote his {{w|Annus Mirabilis papers}}. These four papers explained the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence, turning established physics on its head. Ironically, Michelson made this statement despite the fact that he himself had upset a major of notion of established physics just seven years before, when the {{w|Michelson-Morley experiment}} demonstrated that the speed of light was constant, disproving the {{w|Aether_theories}} then prevalent in physics. This result in turn was part of the inspiration for Einstein's theory of special relativity.

==Transcript==
:[A panel, representing an excerpt from a scholarly journal, with two sentences clearly visible. Below the text is one more readable word, with a horizontal line below it, and then four numbered lines with unreadable text. Rare for xkcd the text is written with normal capitalization rather than in all caps.]
:We believe this resolves all remaining questions on this topic. No further research is needed.
:References
:1.
:2.
:3.
:4.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Just once, I want to see a research paper with the guts to end this way.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Research Papers]]

2268: Further Research is Needed

2020-04-01T20:54:19Z

Account: /* Explanation */ The organic chemistry example isn't quite notable enough.

{{comic
| number = 2268
| date = February 14, 2020
| title = Further Research is Needed
| image = further_research_is_needed.png
| titletext = Further research is needed to fully understand how we managed to do such a good job.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CONFIDENT RESEARCHER WHO BELIEVES THIS EDIT RESOLVES ALL REMAINING EXPLANATION ON THIS TOPIC. General niceness. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In most scientific fields, it's very common to end research papers with the caveat that "more research is needed", or words to that effect. This is particularly true when reporting results on a topic that's not well studied, and in which there's not enough literature to form a broad consensus. This is a very reasonable suggestion, an individual research project may produce results that suggest a certain conclusion, but it would be foolhardy to take something as established fact based on a single study. Individual studies may produce misleading information, they may have flaws that don't become evident until later, they may be based on assumptions that don't hold up, or the results may end up having an alternate explanation (as when a correlation is found, but does not establish specific causation). It's all too common for science reporters, particularly in low-quality outlets, to draw broad and bold conclusions from a single study, but actual scientists quickly learn to be more cautious. Peer-reviewed papers will generally make clear that conclusions are tentative, and may be modified or even overturned by future research.

This comic's fictional paper, however, ends with a statement that the paper has resolved all the problems about its topic, and that no more research is necessary. Humorously, the authors are so confident in their research skills that they believe that they have solved all the problems in that particular topic that can be solved. Munroe jokes that he'd like to see researchers with "the guts" to make such a proclamation. In real life, doing so would likely damage the reputation of the study's authors, because it would belie both a breathtaking arrogance and a lack of understanding of the research process. If nothing else, studies need to be replicated, to establish that the initial data gathering was accurate. In addition, no single study could realistically address every aspect, variation and complication in a given topic. It's simply not feasible that a single paper could "[resolve] all remaining questions" on any given topic, and making such a ridiculous claim would badly damage a researcher's credibility. At the same time, if no further research were necessary, every researcher in the field, including the author who wrote the study, would need to either change fields or change careers. The title text ironically states that "further research" ''is'' indeed needed to understand how the researchers who wrote the paper were able to resolve all the problems in that topic or field, thus allowing the researchers to justify future funding for their research.

Perhaps the statement most like this made by a real scientist was by {{w|Albert A. Michelson}}, at the 1894 dedication of the University of Chicago's Reyerson Physical Laboratory: "[I]t seems probable that most of the grand underlying principles have been firmly established and that further advances are to be sought chiefly in the rigorous application of these principles to all the phenomena which come under our notice." (Variants of this statement are sometimes misattributed to {{w|William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin}}.) Even this statement is couched in much less certainty than the concluding statement presented in this comic strip, and sure enough, just eleven years later, {{w|Albert Einstein}} wrote his {{w|Annus Mirabilis papers}}. These four papers explained the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity, and mass-energy equivalence, turning established physics on its head. Ironically, Michelson made this statement despite the fact that he himself had upset a major of notion of established physics just seven years before, when the {{w|Michelson-Morley experiment}} demonstrated that the speed of light was constant, disproving the {{w|Aether_theories}} then prevalent in physics. This result in turn was part of the inspiration for Einstein's theory of special relativity.

==Transcript==
:[A panel, representing an excerpt from a scholarly journal, with two sentences clearly visible. Below the text is one more readable word, with a horizontal line below it, and then four numbered lines with unreadable text. Rare for xkcd the text is written with normal capitalization rather than in all caps.]
:We believe this resolves all remaining questions on this topic. No further research is needed.
:References
:1.
:2.
:3.
:4.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Just once, I want to see a research paper with the guts to end this way.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Research Papers]]

2279: Symptoms

2020-03-16T21:56:46Z

Account: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2279
| date = March 11, 2020
| title = Symptoms
| image = symptoms.png
| titletext = This medicine says it may cause lightheadedness, dry mouth, and blurred vision, but my head feels incredibly heavy, water is pouring from my mouth, and I can see individual hummingbird wingbeats, so I think I'm fine.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a PERSON WITH ICY SKIN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is the fifth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least seven in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}.

The comic states that the symptoms of a disease are {{w|shortness of breath}}, {{w|fever}}, {{w|fatigue}} and {{w|dry cough}}. These are the top 3 and 5th most {{w|Coronavirus_disease_2019#Signs_and_symptoms|common symptoms}} reported for {{w|COVID-19}}, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. This is thus the fifth comic in a row about this disease, released on the day that the {{w|World Health Organization}} declared the outbreak a {{w|pandemic}}.

Looking these symptoms up on his phone, [[Cueball]] reads them to [[Megan]] who expresses relief. The experiences of hers she claims as normal are so extremely opposite to the symptoms of the virus, that getting it might even be a boon rather than a harm. If a person has powerful lungs, shortness of breath wouldn't be very noticeable. She references icy skin, normally not a fever symptom, although heavy sweating caused by fever can lower temperature. She describes having frenzied energy, the opposite of fatigue.

The last symptom is an "incredibly wet cough", and although that is the opposite of a dry cough, it still sounds quite bad. The description she gives opposes COVID-19, but may be indicative of something else.

The focus on how symptoms play out differently for people with different normal experiences distantly touches on, but deftly evades, the harsh reality that people who, unlike the comic's characters, already have severe respiratory issues, may die in large quantities unless our response to the virus improves. This is because the impact of a disease relates to how bad its symptoms are for the carriers.

Megan's optimistic reaction is ironic, considering these could be symptoms of a whole host of medical situations, including any kind of flu.

The title text expands on this joke. Cueball reads up on the side effects from some medicine. Here again they don't have the common side effects of the medicine but the exact opposite, so they think they must be fine, even though those "anti-symptoms" are themselves cause for concern.

It also reflects on the whole concept of symptom/side effect warnings themselves as often people have no good frame of reference for when a particular symptom is actually abnormal. It is often easy for one to believe they match some or all of a list of symptoms because for someone to be absolutely sure they do not have the a specific symptom, they would need an almost comic level of "normality".

The medicine is supposed to make the user:
#{{w|Lightheaded}}, but Megan's head feels heavy.
#Have a {{w|dry mouth}}, but water is pouring out of Megan's mouth.
#Have {{w|blurred vision}}, but Megan sees so clearly that she can spot individual {{w|hummingbird}} wingbeats.

Having a heavy head, is not a good sign, even though the opposite is also not good. Dry mouth can be annoying but her condition sounds dangerous. And although blurred vision is a bad thing, it is impossible for a human eye to follow the 12-80 beats a second of a hummingbird; this suggests that Megan might be hallucinating, which is arguably even worse.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan stand facing each other, with Cueball looking down at his smartphone held up in one hand.]
:Cueball: It says here common symptoms include shortness of breath, fever, fatigue, and a dry cough.
:Megan: That's reassuring to me, a person with powerful lungs, icy skin, frenzied energy, and an '''''incredibly''''' wet cough.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2258: Solar System Changes

2020-02-28T02:53:46Z

Account: /* Explanation */ This has been completed.

{{comic
| number = 2258
| date = January 22, 2020
| title = Solar System Changes
| image = solar_system_changes.png
| titletext = "Actually, Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --someone who knows Jupiter is within earshot
}}

==Explanation==
This comic shows a drawing with a standard sketch of the {{w|Solar System}}, featuring the Sun, 8 planets, the asteroid belt, and Pluto. [[Randall]] then proposes eight changes to the solar system that he would make if he had the power to do so. Each change is drawn in red with explanatory labels. Performing these changes would be impossible in practice{{Citation needed}}, and would probably make the solar system unstable if actually performed{{Citation needed}}.

See explanations of each proposed change in the [[#Table of proposed changes|table]] below.

The title text refers to {{w|Rings of Jupiter|Jupiter's rings}}, which exist but which are not nearly as prominent as Saturn's.

The title text is being spoken by "someone who knows [that] Jupiter is within earshot," implying that the speaker does not wish to offend Jupiter. which does have its own ring system, just one so small that it's not visible via telescope. Considering that Jupiter is known to disrupt the asteroid belt and send asteroids towards the inner solar system (cf. {{w|Kirkwood gap}}) and completely destroy other celestial bodies ({{w|Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9}}), someone who is "within earshot" of Jupiter may wish to reassure the planet that they think its ring system is already very impressive when they really don't.

Randall has in the past proposed other types of ridiculous changes, such as in [[1061: EST]], [[1069: Alphabet]], and [[1902: State Borders]].

==Table of proposed changes==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Proposed change !! Explanation
|-
| Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit || In the 19th century, scientists found discrepancies between Mercury's predicted orbit and observations. They proposed a hypothetical planet, {{w|Vulcan (hypothetical planet)|Vulcan}}, to account for this discrepancy. After general relativity was discovered by Albert Einstein in the 20th century, it was found to account for these discrepancies.

Planets inside Mercury's orbit would be "mysterious" because they would be difficult to see (due to being above the horizon only during the day and a short period of twilight) or visit (spacecraft travelling inside Mercury's orbit are subject to enormous amounts of sunlight, causing them to overheat). If such planets existed, it's plausible that flybys wouldn't have occurred until very recently.
|-
| After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon || Billions of years ago, Venus and Earth are believed to have been almost identical objects orbiting the Sun. However, orbiting somewhat closer to the Sun, Venus became sufficiently hot that its oceans evaporated, cloaking the surface with gases that caused the Sun's heat to become trapped. This made the planet even hotter, causing a [[1519|runaway greenhouse effect]], and ultimately Venus became very much hotter than the Earth. In turn, the lack of water caused Venerean plate tectonics to fail, causing Venus to have periodic "resurfacing" events where the entire crust is recycled by volcanism. On top of that, Venus was almost certainly hit by an enormous object, hard enough that its spin was completely reversed. Randall may be saying that Venus has fared so badly throughout its life that it deserves some compensation, like rings or a moon.

Alternatively, Randall could be referring to how we see Venus now as opposed to in the past. A hundred years ago, scientists considered Venus and Mars to be equally likely candidates for life and future human exploration - one being a little warmer than Earth and the other a little colder. However, when we sent spacecraft to Venus and Mars in the 1960s, we quickly discovered that [https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Venus is a terrible place]. Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as dense as Earth's and its surface temperature is over 450° C (800° F), not to mention the sulfuric acid rain. Spacecraft that have landed on its surface have lasted a couple hours at most. As a result, missions to Venus have become far rarer since the 1960s, while missions to Mars have remained frequent. Randall might be saying that most people don't consider Venus to be nearly as fascinating place as they used to, and that it would be far more interesting with rings, or at least a moon like Earth or Mars.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, some astronomers (most notably Giovanni Cassini) claimed to have found a {{w|Neith (hypothetical moon)|moon of Venus}}, but that was later determined to be an illusion.

Note that, due to the retrograde spin of Venus, any prograde-orbiting moon would inspiral due to tidal drag (the same effect causing the Moon to slowly move away from the Earth). It is unknown whether Venus used to have moons that were destroyed by this mechanism (possibly passing through a ring state in the process).
|-
| Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions. || Mars has a lot more geological variety than the moon, and is much larger and has active weather patterns, and would therefore look far more interesting than the moon when seen from Earth. In addition, by replacing Earth's current moon with Mars, sending spacecraft to the moon and Mars wouldn't require separate missions and could thus be consolidated into a single one. This would benefit NASA's space exploration efforts, which have suffered from presidents alternating targets for human exploration between "moon-to-Mars" versus "Mars direct" architectures.

Unfortunately, replacing our moon with Mars would have some negative side-effects for both worlds. Mars is 8.7 times more massive than the moon, which means that it would raise much stronger tides on Earth than our moon does now. As for Mars, it would now be significantly warmer than in its present orbit. The ice caps would likely sublimate, and what little water is left on the planet could boil away due to the lack of a thick atmosphere.

Incidentally, the Moon is thought to have been formed by an impact between the young Earth and a Mars-sized body. While Randall probably means well, the situation could get out of control very quickly.
|-
| The solar system needs a super-Earth || {{w|Super-Earth|Super-Earths}} are a type of {{w|Exoplanet|exoplanet}} -- a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun -- that are significantly larger than Earth but significantly smaller than the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). While they are relatively common among systems in which smaller exoplanets have been found, our Solar System doesn't have any super-Earths, and with Mars being moved to replace the Moon, its location would be open to a new planet. With a super-Earth nearby, astronomers would be able to get a much better idea of what they are like. A super-Earth might also be an exciting place to colonize, although [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition30/tryanny.html it would not be possible to return to orbit from such a planet] with current rocket technology.
|-
| More asteroids! || Asteroid belts are usually portrayed in fiction as being incredibly crowded with asteroids, so much so that they pose a significant hazard for spaceships. In reality, the asteroid belt is much more boring, as most large asteroids are millions of miles from their nearest neighbor. The number of asteroids in the asteroid belt is indeterminate, as they range in size from dwarf planets {{w|Asteroid|down to about a meter across}}, and more than 100,000 have been found. Despite this, the density of asteroids in the belt is low enough that spacecraft have no problem flying through the belt untouched. Randall wants more asteroids.
|-
| Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn") || Jupiter is the largest planet, with a volume larger than all other planets combined, and it displays striking weather patterns such as the {{w|Great Red Spot}}. Saturn, with its prominent ring system, is perhaps the most spectacular, but the planet itself looks very bland. Randall would merge the two, creating one planet that would dominate by both size and appearance. The two planets' moons would also be combined: the "Jaturn" diagram shows both the Galilean moons (the four largest moons of Jupiter) and Titan (the largest moon of Saturn) orbiting outside of Jaturn's rings.
|-
| Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair. || Uranus and Neptune are often regarded as being planetary "fraternal twins." Both have approximately the same size, the same mass, and the same composition - they even have similarly bizarre magnetic fields. Uranus's most notable trait is that its axial tilt is almost 98°, meaning it lies on its side and has a seasonal cycle unlike that of any other planet. However, this causes Uranus to look completely featureless most of the time, which makes it less interesting, while Neptune has more active weather patterns, including, episodically, a {{w|Great Dark Spot}} similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The name "Uranus" is also {{tvtropes|UranusIsShowing|subject to ridicule}} by English speakers.
|-
| Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune || Pluto was considered a planet from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union changed its definition of "planet" and reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. However, many people who grew up with Pluto listed as the ninth planet of the solar system were unhappy with the change, a topic that has been the topic of several other xkcd comics ([[473: Still Raw]], [[1551: Pluto]], [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]], etc.). Randall proposes a {{w|Solomonic compromise}} to "satisfy" both the camps who prefer to think of Pluto as "not a dwarf planet" and "not a planet" by making it into a moon. The diagram shows that Charon will also be made a moon of Neptune, and presumably Pluto's other moons as well. Even if the entire Pluto system were transplanted all at once, tidal forces would cause the bodies to drift apart and orbit Neptune independently.

Interestingly, one of the original hypotheses for Pluto's origin is that it and Triton were originally both moons of Neptune, but Triton knocked Pluto out of its orbit into a new orbit around the sun, while Triton remained with Neptune.
|}

==Transcript==
:[A not-to-scale diagram of the solar system is shown with the right edge of the sun on the left side, featuring all eight planets along with their major moons, Pluto (along with its major moon), and the asteroid belt. The original solar system is drawn in black, but several changes have been proposed. If some of the existing planets are removed or changed, they are greyed out, possibly with red crosses over them or red circles or arrows. New planets, moons, rings and asteroids have been added all in red. Each change has been labeled with red text. Only the Sun and Mercury are completely unchanged, Earth and Neptune are not changed directly but their moons have changed. The only black text is a caption at the top:]
:<big>Changes I Would Make to the Solar System</big>

:[Below each of the changes to the solar system is mentioned from left to right, with their labels, that are all in red text. Except for the label under Jupiter and Saturn, there is a line going from the changes to the relevant label.]

:[Three additional planets, one Mercury sized and two smaller on either side very close to each other, have been drawn in between Mercury and the Sun. A bracket marks all three of them and a long line goes from that to the label above, which is even above the next label positioned above the planets.]
:Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit

:[A ring has been drawn around Venus, and a dot representing a moon has been added on its left. A small line goes from the label beneath to Venus.]
:After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon

:[Next to Earth, drawn with four of the major continents visible, the Moon has been grayed out and crossed out with a red X. Also Mars has been grayed out and it is inside a red circle. An arrow goes from the circle around Mars to the Moon. a small line goes from the arrow between the Moon and Mars to the label above the planets.]
:Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions.

:[An additional planet, all in red, has been added between Mars and the asteroid belt, about halfway in size between Earth and Neptune. Four continents are visible in a large ocean, along with weather patterns as in an atmosphere. A small line goes from the planet to the label beneath.]
:The Solar System needs a super-Earth

:[Numerous asteroids have been drawn, half in black, with the other half in red added to the existing asteroids that were already there. A small line goes from the asteroids to the label beneath.]
:More asteroids!

:[Jupiter and Saturn have both been greyed out and also crossed out with two red X'es. Two arrows points from each of the original planets to a new larger red planet drawn above the two. This new planet has the belts, zones, Red Spot, and size of Jupiter, and the hexagon on the north pole and rings of Saturn. It also has the four largest moons from Jupiter on one side and the largest moon from Saturn on the other side, with all five drawn similarly to the original moons. Below the two original planets is a label.]
:Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn")

:[Uranus is greyed out and also crossed out with a red X. A line goes down to the label beneath it.]
:Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair.

:[Pluto and Charon have both been greyed out and are inside a red circle. An arrow points from Pluto and Charon to the right side of Neptune, where Pluto and Charon have been redrawn in red. Neptune's own largest moon is on the other side of Neptune. A line goes from the arrow up to a label above the planet.]
:Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

2240: Timeline of the Universe

2020-02-22T04:17:44Z

Account: /* Explanation */ This incomplete tag is way outdated; there's been a lot of quite sufficient explanation on the subject.

{{comic
| number = 2240
| date = December 11, 2019
| title = Timeline of the Universe
| image = timeline_of_the_universe.png
| titletext = Not actual size, except technically at one spot near the left.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is about the size of the {{w|visible universe}}, presented as a timeline in a way typical of representations of the {{w|timeline of epochs in cosmology}}.

Some events it describes, including the {{w|Big Bang}} and {{w|Inflation (cosmology)|Inflation}} are real, but others are jokes, including the ''Medium Bang'' and ''Settling''. The size history of the visible universe is also embellished for the sake of jokes; the actual size history of the universe has one period referred to as Inflation, which occurred shortly after the Big Bang, followed by comparatively gentle but accelerating expansion. This is artistically depicted in [https://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/060915/060915_CMB_Timeline150.jpg this image from NASA]. Part of the humor in this comic comes from the fact that the varied rate of change in expansion is not yet fully understood, with explanations of events leading to this change including theories such as "dark matter" and "dark energy" (this might therefore be construed as "dark humour"). At the end of the drawing four possible continuations of the timeline are suggested, with director J. J. Abrams listed as the deciding factor between them, stating that all future cosmological development has been handed over to him. Abrams directed the Star Trek movie entitled ''Star Trek'', which established additional alternate timelines for Star Trek, so it may be implied that multiple timelines could result from direction by Abrams in the future. Notably, each Star Trek series has included multiple interacting timelines. For information about each of the events shown in this comic's ''Timeline of the Universe'', see detailed explanations in the section [[#Events on the Timeline of the Universe|Events on the Timeline of the Universe]] below.

The title text is a variation of one of [[Randall|Randall's]] standard jokes that his drawings are ''Not actual size''; in the case of this comic there is technically one spot near the left where the drawing depicts the actual relative size of the universe at the time the drawing represents. Where his drawing begins, at the time when the universe began, per definition, our visible universe had no measurable size. Very soon (within a tiny fraction of an attosecond) after the universe as we know it began, the inflation period blew it up very very fast and then it continued to expand until present day. So at some "time" after the big bang, our visible universe would have had a size (i.e. diameter) that would be the same as any thickness of Randall's universe "line". Since the universe as depicted in the comic goes from infinitesimal size at the moment of the Big Bang to the full size of the universe today, at some point near the left there will be a point where Randall's representation would have the same size as the universe at the correct "time period". Of course a problem with this is that there was only a very very short time period after inflation where the diameter of the observable universe is on the same scale as this comic, and that point is neither indicated nor likely to be accurate in relation to the duration of time elapsed. According to an answer given [https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/32917/size-of-universe-after-inflation here] regarding the size of the visible universe after inflation, there is reason to believe that the size was still less than 1 mm in diameter when the stage of expansion known as Inflation ended, which is less than the thickness of the line shown at the Big Bang (depending on the screen size the comic is viewed upon); So the point along the timeline where the size of our visible universe matched the line width appears after the Inflation period is thought to have ended. Since Randall includes the ''Medium Bang'' before Inflation on his drawing he has already inserted a mistake there, but as the next three epochs after Inflation are real epochs, it is likely somewhere in this part of the drawing that the visible universe would have had the same diameter as the thickness of the drawing at a relevant time epoch on the drawing. This will thus not be that far to the left but around the Quark epoch.

===Events on the Timeline of the Universe===
The events presented in the timeline are:

* '''??''' (more than 13.8 billion years ago ({{w|Billion years|Gya}})): the unknown state of the universe prior to the Big Bang, if such a statement is even sensible. There are theories that our Universe is a bubble where inflation stopped (13.8 billion years ago in this universe) in an infinite and {{w|Eternal inflation|eternally inflating}} larger universe, which would give rise to the possibility of a {{w|multiverse}} with many bubble universes like ours where inflation has stopped. See for instance this recent video on the subject: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XglOw2_lozc How Many Universes Are There?] from PBS Space Time. If this is true, the universe did not start at the big bang, but our part of the infinite universe actually began when the inflation period stopped, and not at the Big Bang.
* '''{{w|Big Bang}}''' (13.8 Gya): The model of the origin of the universe which has achieved consensus among astronomers. We have observed that all galaxies are receding away from Earth at rates that are roughly proportional to their distance, and the simplest explanation for this is that the universe is expanding. If the universe is expanding, then (unless new physics are discovered) it must have at one time been very, very small and dense; that moment in time is called the Big Bang.
* '''{{w|Timeline_of_epochs_in_cosmology#Planck_epoch|Planck Epoch}}''': The time period starting from the Big Bang, the Planck epoch or Planck era is the earliest stage of expansion currently calculable, before the time passed was equal to the Planck time (tP, or approximately 10^-43 seconds). There is no currently available physical theory to describe such short times, and it is not clear in what sense the concept of time is meaningful for values smaller than the Planck time.
* '''Medium Bang''' (a joke): If there's a Big Bang, why not have a medium one? There should probably also be a Little Bang, but maybe it's just too little to be featured on this chart.
* '''{{w|Inflation (cosmology)|Inflation}}''' (10^-36 to 10^-32 seconds after the Big Bang): A theory developed to explain the large-scale structure of the universe that postulates a period when the universe expanded very much faster than the speed of light. (The universe still expands faster than the speed of light, but only 2-3 times as fast. The limit of the speed c, is only valid for things moving in space time, not for the stretching of space itself!)
* '''{{w|Timeline_of_epochs_in_cosmology#Quarks_epoch|Quark Epoch}}''' (10^-12 seconds after the Big Bang): The universe is a quark-gluon plasma, up until 10^-6 seconds when it cools enough to coalesce into hadrons, including protons and neutrons.
* '''{{w|Timeline_of_epochs_in_cosmology#Lepton_epoch|Lepton Epoch}}''' (1 second after the Big Bang): Leptons, including electrons, and their associated neutrinos dominate.
* '''{{w|Timeline_of_epochs_in_cosmology#Photon_epoch|Photon Epoch}}''' (10 seconds after the Big Bang): The universe is dominated by photons.
* '''Cool Bug Epoch''' (a joke): There was a period around 10-17 million years after the Big Bang in which the cosmic background radiation was between 273 and 373 K, the temperature range for liquid water, but as oxygen had not yet been formed, as stars were not yet there to create it, there would have been no water. Cosmologists {{w|Avi_Loeb#Early_Universe|have speculated}} that primitive life could have arisen during this period and dubbed it the 'Habitable Epoch of the Early Universe', although it's unclear how this life would have formed since there was basically only hydrogen and helium atoms in the universe until the first Super Nova explosions some 100 million years later. Possibly this is the epoch in which the "cool red beetle" which [[Beret Guy]] added to his company's bug tracker (see [[1493: Meeting]]), or the "friendly bug" he wanted to show to a conference speaker (see [[2191: Conference Question]]), evolved.
* '''Molded grip''' (a joke): Some tools (e.g. knives) have molded finger-wells so that the user's hand settles easily and securely into a comfortable position. This epoch of the universe features repeated expansions and contractions so that this part of the timeline resembles a molded grip, at least in profile (it would be much too large to be held by any known animal's hands{{Citation needed}}, and the finger-wells are distributed over time as well as space).
* '''{{w|Timeline_of_epochs_in_cosmology#Cosmic_Dark_Age|Stars form}}''' (100 million years after the Big Bang): The universe cools enough to allow ordinary matter particles to group into stars.
* '''{{w|Stagflation}}''' (a joke): In addition to ''cosmic'' inflation, inflation can also refer to the economic phenomenon in which prices increase over time. Stagflation is combination of the terms "stagnation" and "inflation", and refers to a situation in which monetary inflation is high, economic growth is slow, and job creation is low. This epoch of the universe shows the universe beginning to contract in size, much as economists would talk about an economy contracting.
* '''Settling''' (a joke): Thanks to government intervention and quantitative easing of the {{w|cosmological constant}}, or perhaps the judicious use of the Universe Control Panel, the contraction of the universe has halted. Alternately this may be a comparison to how in a package full of smaller items, the contents can "settle" over time so the empty space in between them is more filled in so it takes up less space overall leaving open space at the top (like how a cereal box may say "some settling may occur during shipment" to explain why the box doesn't seem completely full), and is thus claiming that somehow something similar to that decreased the size of the universe.
* '''Rebound''' (a joke): Consumer confidence has returned to the universe and it has begun expanding again. Alternatively, Settling and Rebound could be a reference to crustal rebound as the mere Earth occasionally shrinks and re-expands its surface. After all, Plate Tectonics games are fun when they are played in Real Time.
* '''Someone tripped and accidentally hit the "Inflation" switch again''' (a joke). This switch must be on the Universe Control panel referenced both in [[1620: Christmas Settings]] and in [[1763: Catcalling]].
* '''Emergency Stop triggered''' (a joke). Also on the Universe Control panel see previous entry.
* '''{{w|Timeline_of_epochs_in_cosmology#Galaxy_epoch|Galaxies form}}''' (12.8 Gya)
* '''{{w|Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System#Formation_of_the_planets|Earth forms}}''' (4.5 Gya)
* '''Present day'''
* '''Future cosmological development handed over to {{w|J.J. Abrams}}, outcome unknown''' (a joke): J.J. Abrams is a science-fiction writer and filmmaker. If he were in charge of the future development of the cosmos, he might decide to subject all of us to some strange plot twist. Among many other movies, he has directed the 2009 reboot of ''{{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek}}'', in which the "future history" of ''Star Trek'' is altered from the timeline of the original series by Nero and Spock traveling backwards in time. He also has directed other "Star" films, including ''{{w|Star Wars: The Force Awakens}}'', and ''{{w|Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker}}'' (to be released a few weeks after the publishing of this comic). He is also involved in the {{w|Mission: Impossible (film series)|Mission: Impossible}} films.
**The dashed lines coming off the end of the timeline represent the possible fates of the universe:
*** The one curving in represents that the universe could stop expanding and begin contracting, resulting in the {{w|Big Crunch}}. In our universe, cosmological measurements have shown that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, so the Big Crunch is considered to be the least likely fate.
*** The second curve continuing the trend from before represents that the universe could settle into thermal equilibrium, which would leave no energy available for any interesting phenomena to occur. This is called the {{w|heat death of the universe}} or "Big Freeze".
*** The fourth curve represents that the universe's expansion will continue accelerating, eventually very rapidly, to the point that the accelerating expansion overcomes all forces between particles, turning the universe into a collection of particles isolated from each other by rapidly-expanding space. This is called the {{w|Big Rip}}.
***In between the second and fourth curve there seems to be something in between where the universe expansion accelerates and then slows down again. We have so far seen the expansion rate decelerate in the early life of the universe where the gravity of the more compact universe slowed the expansion, but then this turned around to an {{w|Timeline_of_epochs_in_cosmology#Acceleration|acceleration}} after about 9 billion years as the distance between galaxy clusters became so large that dark energy became the dominant force, causing the universe expansion to accelerate. So who knows if this could change again... At present our understanding says that the universe expansion-rate will keep accelerating. But left to J. J. Abrams, then the outcome is unknown. These four options represents both what we have theories for and what J. J. might come up with.

==Transcript==
:[A large header is above the main drawing:]
:<big>'''Timeline of the Universe'''</big>

:[The drawing shows a diagram of the evolution of the universe from the Big Bang (left) to the present right with lines indicating possible futures continuing right of the main drawing. The drawing is that of a black horn of plenty, very thin to the left and then it becomes broader, mainly in steps but also slightly between each step. n a few places the diameter decreases a bit. Along the "tube" are segments divided with thin white lines, with about equal distance between them. The first 20 the tube is black, but then stars form, shown as many white dots, and finally in the last 3-4 segments galaxies are shown. At the top and bottom of the opening to the right there are four dashed lines which behaves the same way. Two points inward, two continue the trend from before they begin, two goes out fast again, and then falls back to slow increase, and two goes almost straight up and down. At the far left there is a line going in to a small dot. On the line before the dot are two questions mark. A line points to the dot which has a starburst around it. It represents the Big Bang. After this firs labeled point on the drawing there are mange other labeled sections with a line going from the label to a segment on the drawing. There are 9 above, 9 below and one at each end. The one at the right end pointing to the four dashed future lines at the top. From left to right in the order they are labeled on the timeline, the labels are:]
:??
:Big Bang
:[The Universe comes in as a circle with action lines around it. It stays the same size for a while.]
:Planck Epoch
:Medium Bang
:[The Universe starts inflating very slowly]
:Inflation
:[The Universe briefly inflates very rapidly, and returns to its normal rate of expansion.]
:Quark Epoch
:Lepton Epoch
:Photon Epoch
:Cool Bug Epoch
:[The Universe starts inflating and deflating rapidly, forming a series of bumps in the universe diagram like the grip on a hand tool.]
:Molded grip
:[Stars appear in the timeline. The Universe starts inflating slightly faster than before.]
:Stars form
:Stagflation
:[The Universe starts deflating slowly.]
:Settling
:Rebound
:[The Universe starts inflating slowly again.]
:Someone tripped and accidentally hit the "Inflation" switch again
:[The Universe starts inflating at the same rate as the Inflation section.]
:Emergency Stop triggered
:[The Universe abruptly stops inflating, and stays level.]
:[Galaxies appear in the timeline. The Universe starts inflating at a medium pace.]
:Galaxies form
:Earth forms
:Present day
:[We see the edge of the Universe, with a rounded shape. Various dotted line predictions are on the edges.]
:Future Cosmological development handed over to J.J. Abrams, outcome unknown

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]